Questions to ask a brokerage technology vendor before you sign

Most brokerage technology demos look convincing. A demo shows a product on its best day, with the right data loaded and the best person at the keyboard. A contract commits you to what it does every day.

These questions are for the person who will sign: a founder, owner or operating executive. For each one we say why it matters, what a good answer sounds like and what should slow you down.

Ask in writing where you can, and keep the replies.

Scope: what is actually one platform

1. Which parts are built together, and which are integrated?

"Complete solution" can mean one product, or four products joined by integration work. Ask for the list: trading terminal, back office, client area, payments, administration. For each one, ask whether it shares a database and a login with the rest, or syncs with them.

Why it matters: every sync is a place where a client record can be late or wrong. Two vendors can each say the fault is the other's.

A good answer names the components, says which are first-party and which are third-party, and is specific about what happens at each boundary.

Red flags: "it all connects", with no diagram and no named components.

Execution: what the vendor must say plainly

2. Is execution dealer-based, or routed to a bridge, ECN or exchange?

These are different business models, with different risk, capital and regulatory consequences.

• Dealer-based: your brokerage is the counterparty to client trades.
• Bridge or ECN: orders are routed to liquidity providers or a venue.

A good answer states the model in one sentence. Then it explains what the software does and what you must arrange yourself: liquidity relationships, risk limits, hedging.

Red flags: an answer that blurs the two, or marketing that implies exchange-style execution when the model is dealer-based.

White-label depth

3. What can be changed per brand, and how?

A logo swap is a re-skin. White-label should also cover your domain, certificates, colours, icons, support contacts and default theme.

Ask whether changes need a vendor release or your own administrator can make them, and whether you can run more than one brand.

A good answer distinguishes what you configure yourself from what the vendor does on request, and says how certificates are issued and renewed.

Red flags: your clients can see the vendor's name in the address bar, the login screen or the emails.

Market data and instruments

4. Which instruments and feeds are active by default, and which depend on a plan?

"Forex, stocks, indices, commodities, crypto" on a features page does not tell you what a client can trade tomorrow. Coverage usually depends on the data provider and your plan with them.

A good answer lists what is live out of the box, what needs a data subscription, who pays for it and who holds the agreement.

Red flags: blanket coverage claims, and no one willing to name the data source.

Payments

5. Which payment processors are really integrated, and who holds the agreements?

There is a large gap between "supports payment gateways" and "has a working integration with this processor". Ask to see a live deposit through each processor you plan to use. Then ask:

• Who signs the merchant agreement? It should be you.
• What happens to funds in transit?

A good answer names the processors that work today and says plainly that others are not integrated. For example, QUANTIX integrates PayMesh, PGPay, CoinGate and Transak.

Red flags: a logo wall with no integration status, or a processor your plan depends on that is promised but not yet live.

KYC and compliance tooling

6. What does the software do, and what does it not do?

A KYC queue, document storage and an approval workflow help your compliance team work. They do not make you compliant, and software does not confer a licence. Be wary of any vendor that talks as if it does.

A good answer describes the tooling (review queue, statuses, document handling, who can approve) and states clearly that licensing and regulatory standing are yours.

Red flags: "regulatory-compliant platform", "licence included" or "we handle compliance for you".

Roles, permissions and audit

7. How granular are permissions, and what is recorded?

Brokerages hold sensitive data, and staff change. Ask whether you can restrict a role by module, by action and by which data it can see.

Then ask what the audit trail records:

• who changed a spread;
• who approved a withdrawal;
• who exported a client list.

A good answer shows the permission model on screen and lets you read an audit trail entry.

Red flags: a handful of fixed roles, or an audit trail limited to logins.

Languages and right-to-left

8. Is Arabic a mirrored interface or translated text in a left-to-right layout?

For an Arabic-speaking audience this is not cosmetic. A properly mirrored interface reverses navigation, tables, forms and icons. It also handles mixed Arabic and Latin text, such as instrument codes.

Check the back office as well as the client area. Your staff work in it all day.

A good answer shows both interfaces in Arabic, and says which parts, if any, remain English-only.

Red flags: a screenshot of the client area only.

Hosting, service levels and support

9. What is committed in the contract?

Uptime percentages on a website are easy to print and hard to enforce. Ask the contract to state:

• the service levels and how they are measured;
• the remedy if they are missed;
• support hours and the escalation path;
• how you are told about incidents.

A good answer separates what is contractual from what is a target, and the vendor is comfortable discussing it.

Red flags: a headline uptime number that appears nowhere in the agreement.

Integrations and custom development

10. What exists today, and what is promised?

Every vendor has plans for the future. Your question is which of your requirements exist in the product now, which are custom work, and which are only intentions.

Ask how custom work is scoped, who owns the result, and how it is priced and maintained after delivery.

A good answer gives you three lists (existing, scoped as a project, not offered) and puts custom work into a separate scope of work.

Red flags: "yes, we can do that" answered in the room, with nothing written.

Commercial model

11. What is included in the subscription, and what is separate?

Ask for a written breakdown:

• the right to use the platform;
• number of brands or users;
• hosting and support;
• data feeds;
• payment fees;
• website work and customisation.

Then ask what happens to your data and your domain if you leave, and how you export them.

A good answer is a clear list, with exit terms you can read without a lawyer's help.

Red flags: a low entry price with essential items sold later.

Using the list

Do not expect a perfect answer to every question. Look for vendors who say "no" and "not yet" without discomfort. That is a reason to trust the rest. A confident yes with nothing behind it costs more.

If you would like to put these questions to us, the platform page describes what QUANTIX covers, and a private demo is a good place to ask the rest.