Match-Prime Liquidity ANDREAS KAPSOS CEO of MTG Liquidity LTD
Today we met with Andreas Kapsos, the CEO of Match-Prime Liquidity, a Nicosia based Liquidity Provider. Andreas agreed to host us at the company’s new offices and answer a few questions. Q Hello Andreas, thanks for having me. Several months have passed since our last meeting. I can see that you’ve been busy - a new office, several new faces in it, and more and more new customers announced. Business is going well, I presume? Indeed! In the last few months, the company has gained significant recognition, and we can see that, especially during the expos. Our booth is always busy, and when we fly abroad, our calendars are filled with meetings. Today I can proudly say that the strategy we adopted at the beginning has brought the expected results. We entered the market with a well-thoughtout and refined solution. We knew that clients approached new entities on the liquidity market with reserve, even those licenced by CySEC, so we made sure that our offer guaranteed them complete security and the possibility of verifying our services first. In this way, we have built trust, acquired several large brokers and partnered with industry-leading companies. Let me put it this way: we had to change the office because the previous one became too small. Q You hear a lot lately that it’s getting harder and harder to find good employees, especially here in Cyprus. Have you noticed this trend? This seems to have become quite a common view over the last few years, and there is definitely some truth in it. We have to accept that this is an industry that has been developing at quite a fast pace for many years, and the number of specialists is simply not growing at the same rate. People know their value; they don’t want to waste time on work that doesn’t help them grow and gives no satisfaction. I understand it perfectly well; the best thing about working in Match-Prime was that I could realise my own vision and create something exactly as I wanted. Cyprus really is the forex capital of the world. I’ve studied in the UK, been here and there, but the local fintech market is just incomparable, you can see it by the number of new companies starting every month. CySEC is a responsible and reputable regulator, the fact that Match-Prime has a Cypriot license opens
doors for us almost all over the world. Customers just know that they can trust us. We are also lucky when it comes to geographical location! If you take one look at a map, you can see the island’s proximity to the MENA region and of course to mainland Europe. Q Do you plan to build your brand also outside of Cyprus? We have already put a lot of emphasis on it, not only in Europe but also in MENA & Asia. In September, we plan to be in Bangkok to attend one of the biggest industry events in the area. We’ve also been to London, signed contracts with a customer from Australia and become exhibitors at several large EXPOs. It really has been a busy time. Recently I’ve realised that we have been to Dubai 3 times in less than a year! Each of them was a great experience, with an abundance of opportunities to make new contacts and forge great relationships with our existing clients. The Middle East is undoubtedly a very interesting market, although demanding, that’s for sure. Our advantage is that we have a lot of experience in this region and we believe that we have the ability to understand its needs much better than before. Stavros Economides, our Chief Operating Officer, held the position of Head of Trading in one of the largest retail brokers operating in the UAE. By utilising his direct experience and understanding of the local market needs, we were able to reach out to the market successfully. Q We talked about the employees, but did you also notice the increased expectations of customers? Are Brokers more demanding than a few years ago? Without a doubt. Customers expect more and more from liquidity providers, things that were “something extra” a while ago are becoming today’s standard. It’s not easy to stand out. This applies not only to brokers that are looking for a prime provider but also to those who just want to diversify their liquidity sources. It’s undoubtedly a competitive game field, but we are fully aware and ready for it. We also have a few tricks up our sleeve and points to attract brokers attention. Q Go on then! Let’s start with the fact that our clients can count on
