Introducing Nasdaq Client Connect: A Portal for Digitalizing Member Services

In our personal lives, we’ve grown accustomed to interacting with product and service providers via online platforms. This is the way we do our banking, interact with our ISP, phone and electricity service providers; order a taxi, food delivery, and much more. If anything, we’ve resorted to these low-touch and time-efficient interactions even more since the COVID-19 lockdowns.

But all too often in capital markets, that low-touch experience does not translate over to our business interactions. We have no choice but to use higher-touch communications such as phone and email, sometimes maybe even fax, to perform tasks that we could do ourselves quite easily online.

Back in 2015, Nasdaq created a digital service portal for the market operations team at our European exchanges and clearing house. Along with the vision to improve efficiency and service quality, regulatory compliance was one of the main drivers. At the time, we needed to automate many standardized tasks in preparation for MiFID II. Today, the system operates as the digital service interface across a range of functions, supporting every Nasdaq market across both Europe and North America.

During the process, our vision has been confirmed manyfold; with the introduction of a digital service model, we have reduced response times and provided all necessary information and configuration services at our members’ fingertips, making both us and them more productive. For Nasdaq, it has greatly improved our operational efficiency, and we can now better measure service response times and other key performance indicators in more detail.

As provider of market technology to market infrastructure operators globally, we’re now launching this solution, Nasdaq Client Connect, to Nasdaq Market Technology’s exchange and clearing house customers as a white-labeled product that they can use to service their own members and build their brand.

Nasdaq Client Connect allows members to log in, or connect via a REST API, to efficiently access their data and interact with service teams. Internal and external user roles control permissions and facilitate efficient authentication of access and signatory rights. Many tasks can be performed on the portal, here’s a sampling:

• Members can view, verify and manage their data and setup, such as technical access, ports, accounts, add/manage users and registered traders, and access various reports.
• Members can request support and order additional services, such as market data feeds and colocation space, track progress and resolution. The portal utilizes smart forms, which enable the exchange or clearing house to set up standardized workflows without the need for coding. The forms validate input at entry, reducing risk of errors and streamlining service delivery.
• Technical staff at members, ISVs and market data vendors can access APIs, installation kits, user guides and perform conformance testing.
• The exchange or clearing house can onboard new members from start to finish using multi-party workflows, manage members’ self-certifications, and distribute regulatory reports.

Digitalizing member services is not about removing all human interactions – complex, non-standardized tasks still require higher-touch interactions and dialogues with a human. But the Nasdaq Client Connect portal allows staff at exchanges and clearing houses to concentrate on resolving those special issues, and other value-adding activities, while enabling low-touch interactions such as standard queries and requests to be handled through self-service. 

In addition to meeting clients’ expectations on modern and efficient interfaces and services, exchanges and clearing houses can become more data-driven when interactions are digital and stored in the system. For example, they can measure response times and other KPIs, and monitor what types of tasks members perform. Armed with this type of business intelligence, they can improve their competitive positioning. In addition, all parties benefit from having a centralized audit trail of communication, with full traceability of requests and changes.

Our experience shows that Nasdaq Client Connect delivers clear benefits to exchanges, clearing houses and their members. We’re excited to extend the product to our market technology customers across the globe, to support their workflows and branding. Hundreds of member firms use the portal today at Nasdaq’s European and US markets, and we continuously invest in the future roadmap based on this experience and client input, combined with our long-term vision to empower members with efficient self-services to constantly enhance the user experience.

Other Topics

Market Infrastructure Technology

Magnus Haglind

Nasdaq

Magnus Haglind is Senior Vice President and Head of Products, Marketplace Technology within the Market Platforms division of Nasdaq and is responsible for roadmap and product portfolio management of a broad suite of mission critical market infrastructure solutions provided to capital markets.

Read Magnus' Bio