eClerx and FIA Technology Services announced a partnership today to improve efficiency across FIA Tech’s operations, data processing, and other industry utility-based services. 

The first initiative stemming from the strategic partnership is a centralized, EGUS (Electronic Give Up Solution) document digitization solution. EGUS is FIA Tech’s web-based application that streamlines give-up processing resulting in financial savings to brokers, customers and traders. It provides an automated workflow for the execution of give-up agreements and captures rates in an electronic format that can flow into downstream systems.

This solution combines eClerx’s domain and process excellence capabilities with that of Semantic Evolution, which has developed leading edge technology for extracting unstructured data. Executing brokers will now be able to use EGUS as a low cost, scalable solution to implement electronic brokerage rate schedules, improving brokerage settlement processes for their firm. It will also further industry efforts to use  EGUS as the golden source of reference data for commissions and fees, improving  the ability for the entire FCM community to accurately track and account for brokerage fees.

The partnership between eClerx, a specialist in Business Process Outsourcing, and FIA Tech is in response to industry requests to solve a number of shared challenges, including the need for common data standards such as accurate rate and commission data to ensure precise and efficient commission payment processing, as well to enable systematic forecasting, reconciliations, and insightful operational analytics.

Stephen Ingle, eClerx’s Head of Financial Services Head of Product and Business Development, said, “We are exceptionally happy to be partnering with FIA Tech to deliver projects that will positively impact the cleared derivatives industry.  This relationship with the FIA is a logical extension of the critical operational support that eClerx provides to a number of the largest global financial institutions. Our ability to now deliver solutions to the whole industry through the FIA’s member base will ensure that all brokers gain the same deep domain expertise, improved time to market, and technology advantages that eClerx delivers on clients’ engagements today.”

Nick Solinger, President of FIA Tech, said, “We’re excited for this partnership as it allows us to improve our services to our customers.  We’ll be able to provide increased operational efficiencies, improved data quality for brokerage operations, and the ability for our users to leverage eClerx’s derivatives domain expertise in conjunction with FIA tech’s services.  Existing customers of FIA Tech will gain access to the range of eClerx services through FIA Tech’s market-tested framework with the attendant benefits in the form of common technology, oversight, and conformance with data protection policies and security standards.“

“Our first initiative together aims to digitize the large number of manual eRates schedules on EGUS today.  We anticipate that this will provide immediate industry benefits through improving automation and reducing reconciliation breaks in downstream billing and brokerage functions,” said Stephen Ingle.

FIA Tech has shared this initiative with its EGUS user group and has held informational webinars to educate its membership about the availability of eClerx as an industry-leading, ready option to mitigate bottlenecks from reconciliation, data processing or other operational challenges.