MetaQuotes, the company behind the ubiquitous MetaTrader platform, announced changes to its this Monday. The new features should streamline the onboarding process for brokers and make trading clearer to industry newbies.

Users of MetaTrader 5 can now open an account with a broker via the platform’s start dialog. The start dialog brings up a list of brokers that use MetaTrader and the user can select the company they are opening an account with.

For trading newbies, this service is useful as they can also see the different account types available at the broker they have selected. For instance, if the user selects ‘demo account’, MetaTrader 5 will have a small description of what a demo account is and what risks are involved in using one.

Regulatory helping hand

From the brokers’ side, the updates will be helpful in adhering to the European Union’s (EU) (GDPR). The account opening dialog has links to the relevant data protection agreements that firms must list and enables clients to give their consent to those agreements.

For regulated brokers, there are even more benefits, on the regulatory front, to today’s announced updates. Adhering to the (MiFID II) should be easier as clients can upload identification and address documents – something that was previously only available on the MetaTrader 5 mobile application.

This means that clients can open accounts faster and brokers can adhere to MiFID II more easily. For example, if a broker wants to request information related to a clients employment status and trading experience, that information can be accessed almost instantly.