From Legacy to Leveraged: Re-imagining the FX Trading Sales Desk
Reproduced with kind permission of the Harrington Star, 13 August 2025: From Legacy to Leveraged - Re-imagining the FX Trading Sales Desk.
Tom Darvall, Managing Director at Caplin Systems, sits down with Toby Babb to discuss how trading technology is advancing, sales desks are evolving, and user experience is becoming a critical part of capital markets infrastructure. They explore Caplin’s journey from its early innovations in the 2000s to its latest tools that help banks boost productivity, streamline workflows, and prepare for a multi-asset, AI-enabled future.
Caplin’s journey began in 2000, when they launched a breakthrough high-speed FX data streaming solution that caught the attention of tier-one banks. They soon moved beyond data delivery, pioneering web-based single-dealer platforms and expanding into a suite of trading applications for clients ranging from corporates to institutional traders. Usability has always been at the core – building fast, stable, and intuitive tools that enhance both client and internal user experiences.
Today, Caplin helps banks adapt to a rapidly digitalising market. They tackle the shift from voice to electronic trading driven by regulation, margin pressure, and changing expectations, enabling self-service for low-touch trades while freeing sales teams to focus on high-value activity. Their consulting-led approach breaks down organisational silos, delivering unified experiences across teams and geographies.
Rather than the old “build or buy” choice, Caplin offers modular, customisable technology that can evolve without long development cycles or lost upgrade paths. Innovations like natural-language trade creation and AI-powered cross-sell recommendations drive productivity and profitability. Looking ahead, Caplin is expanding into fixed income, commodities, money markets, and digital assets – with a long-term vision for a self-service platform that makes deploying new trading tools as simple as clicking a button.
