The Meter
FX swaps · Rates · Bonds · NDFs
See what the meter is costing your desk.
Set your own.
Per-ticket brokerage taxes activity: every trade, every ticket. A subscription does not. Enter what your broker charges you today and watch it against a flat model.
- 01Your rateEntered by you. Nothing is published and no competitor is named.
- 02Your volumeTrades per day, average size, trading days per year.
- 03Your comparisonPer ticket against a flat model, on your own numbers.
Methodology · how the number is built
Every figure on this page is yours, and every source is stated.
The Meter carries no live pricing feed and no lookup table of what anyone charges. Every figure on screen is computed from the values you enter, which means identical inputs always return an identical result, and any number here can be reproduced line by line. The opening defaults are the one place judgement enters, so each is taken from a validated market range and each range is set out below.
On the Interest Rates tab the rate is entered in basis points of notional and converted at market convention, where one basis point on one million of notional is one hundred. The monthly view is the annual figure divided by twelve.
| Tab | Charging unit |
|---|---|
| FX Swaps | per 1m traded |
| Interest Rates | basis points of notional |
| Bonds | per 1m traded |
| NDFs | per 1m traded |
Each tab follows its own desk convention. Figures are denominated in the currency you are trading, not in a fixed currency per product. NDFs are treated as FX forwards and swaps are, on a per million basis.
The calculation
Annual cost = trades per day × trading days per year × average trade size in millions × your rate per million
Where the defaults come from. Interest Rates opens at 0.05 basis points, between 0.02 and 0.08 for G11 swaps traded between currencies. FX Swaps opens at 0.50 per million, between a funding average near 0.20 and a one month average near 0.80. NDFs opens at 2.75 per million, between a funding average near 1.50 and a one month average near 4.00. Bonds opens at 3.60 per million, the midpoint of an observed 2.60 to 4.60 range for electronic execution. Each sits between the stated averages rather than at the favourable end, and every one of them is yours to overwrite.
| Input | What it means |
|---|---|
| Trades per day | Ticket count across the desk on a normal trading day. |
| Average trade size | Notional per ticket, expressed in millions. |
| Cost per million | The toll your broker charges on each million traded. On the rates tab, basis points of notional. |
| Trading days per year | Defaults to 252, the standard convention. Editable. |
| Assumed platform fee | Optional, and entirely your own estimate. Used only for the net figure. |
A default is a starting point, not a statement of what you pay, and no figure here is attributed to any named firm. Reclaimed margin is the annual cost less any platform fee you choose to assume. Where the fee you enter exceeds the cost, the tool states that per ticket is cheaper on your assumptions rather than concealing it.
The structural point · why it compounds
Per-ticket pricing taxes activity. A subscription does not.
01
Cost tracks tickets, not value
The toll applies whether a ticket was profitable or not. A busier desk pays more for the privilege of being busier, and nothing in the charge reflects what the flow was worth.
02
The line item cannot be planned
Per-ticket cost moves with volume, so the desk carries a budget line it does not control. Forecasting it means forecasting the market.
03
It shapes behaviour
When every ticket carries a charge, desks economise on tickets. That is a constraint on how you execute, not merely on what you spend.
IDBX charges for access to the venue rather than for activity across it. The figure above is what removing the toll is worth to your desk, on your own numbers.
Next step
Run your numbers, then let us look at them with you.
If the figure above is material, the conversation worth having is what a flat model looks like against your actual flow rather than an illustrative default.