THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
User collaboration goes down well stateside
David Raccat and Joseph Seroussi, co-founders of Wematch look at how the platform has developed since its launch in North America and the importance of working closely with users. Following its launch in 2017, Wematch quickly signed up a large proportion of securities finance market participants in Europe. This success encouraged the founders to roll out their product in North America. Using a similar roadmap and having looked carefully at the specific characteristics of the North American market, the platform was launched in the US in October 2020 with the first group of dealers using the platform for equity swaps. “We are now in a situation where market traction is very promising,” says David Raccat. “We have been talking to many clients and dealers who are starting the process of joining our community, and our team on the ground ensures that these clients are able to use the platform in a seamless way for the best user experience.”
The initial focus has been on equity swaps for US equities, but Wematch is currently looking at increasing its product group along the same lines as it did in Europe by adding securities lending into the mix. “We are working on this product with the objective of releasing it in North America over the coming months,” adds Raccat. Workflow addressed Workflow is the key issue the platform helps these clients address, providing a digital solution which allows them to minimise operational, compliance, conduct, and execution risk. “Everything we do is to ensure that the data managed by our clients in the platform is systematically matched,” explains Raccat. “By ensuring there is a full match between what the buyer and seller are seeing in the platform we minimise the risk of a fail or a mismatch.” Connectivity is another important element of the offer. “By using our API protocols we ensure minimal manual processing and keying,” he says. “Where we receive the data from the client automatically, we process that information into the platform and send it back to the clients through our API connectivity.” Joseph Seroussi explains how Wematch
By ensuring there is a full match between what the buyer and seller are seeing in the platform we minimise the risk of a fail or a mismatch – David Raccat, co-founder Wematch
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Securities Finance Americas Guide 2022
