A retail FX or CFD broker needs a trading platform, a CRM to manage clients and IBs, a liquidity connection to actually fill orders, and a way to take deposits and pay out withdrawals. Unlike a prop firm, a broker's liquidity setup is not optional detail, it is the part regulators and clients will eventually ask about. Here are the real, named vendors in each category, based on what each one publishes about itself.
We build eTrader and the Broker CRM, so we appear in two of these categories, with the same trade-offs we would tell a client on a demo call.
Trading platforms
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, from MetaQuotes, remain the platforms with the largest trader base and the biggest library of robots and indicators through the MQL5 Market. cTrader, from Spotware, is built for depth of market and algorithmic trading in C#, and runs on Windows, Mac, web, iOS and Android. DXtrade, from Devexperts, is sold as a white-label terminal a broker brands as its own. Match-Trader, from Match-Trade Technologies, is sold as part of a B2B package with a client office, payments and prop tools. TradeLocker builds around TradingView charts and its own risk calculator, and describes its own algo tooling as still growing.
eTrader is the platform we would put on this list: one stack with the terminal, native apps, price feed and the built-in eTrader Dealing Desk for A-book, B-book and hybrid routing, with nothing for the broker to host. Its honest trade-offs, stated the same way in our own comparison of MetaTrader alternatives for brokers and prop firms: it is the newest platform here, its third-party indicator and robot library is smaller than MetaTrader's, and robots are written in Tide, eTrader's own language, so a MetaTrader or cTrader robot has to be rewritten rather than imported.
CRM and back office
B2Core, from B2Broker, is a CRM and traders room with affiliate tools, usually sold alongside B2Broker's own liquidity and platform products. Skale, sold as SkaleCRM, is a client portal and back office with a marketplace of pre-integrated third-party tools. Uptrader offers a forex CRM with real-time platform integrations across MetaTrader, cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader and TradeLocker. FX Back Office, sold as FXBO, is a CRM built specifically for brokers with a large number of payment integrations.
SGHK's Broker CRM covers the client portal, KYC, deposits and withdrawals with exactly-once money movement, an IB and affiliate program, and live balances synced from the trading platform, with both the trader password and a read-only investor password delivered for every eTrader account. It connects in one click to MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, DXtrade, NinjaTrader, Match-Trader and TradeLocker as well as eTrader, so a broker is not required to run eTrader to use it.
Liquidity and bridge technology
This is the category that separates a broker's stack from a prop firm's. A broker taking A-book or hybrid flow needs to connect to liquidity providers and, in most setups, a bridge that aggregates them. PrimeXM describes its XCore product as a trading and aggregation engine with risk management and MT4 / MT5 bridge technology, connecting brokers to a network of liquidity partners. oneZero positions itself as trading technology for multi-asset execution, distribution and analytics, serving retail brokers, institutional brokers and banks, and liquidity providers through what it calls its hub technology. Gold-i describes its own liquidity bridge directly, alongside MetaTrader plugins, MAM tools and risk management, aimed at brokers, liquidity providers and funds that need to connect a trading platform to multiple LPs. Centroid Solutions offers a modular set of products spanning liquidity access, risk management and hosting, and its own client case studies reference its bridge products by name. Tools For Brokers, sold as TFB, centres its offering on the Trade Processor, which it describes as an execution engine, risk manager and liquidity hub in one, supporting MT4, MT5, Match-Trader and cTrader. B2Broker, separately from its B2Core CRM, describes itself as a Prime of Prime liquidity provider aggregating multi-asset liquidity across several asset classes into one margin account.
A broker running eTrader connects its own liquidity provider over FIX directly into the eTrader Dealing Desk, which handles A-book, B-book and hybrid routing, including split routing that sends a set share of every order to the provider and fills the rest in house, with a coverage multiplier from 0.5 to 2 scaling the hedge. Whether that built-in routing is enough, or a broker needs a dedicated bridge like the ones above on top of it, is its own question, covered in liquidity bridges vs built-in A-book routing.
| Category | Vendor | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | eTrader | Terminal, price feed and dealing desk in one bundle |
| MetaTrader 4 / 5 | Largest trader base and robot library | |
| cTrader | Depth of market, C# algo trading | |
| DXtrade | White-label terminal brokers brand as their own | |
| CRM | eTrader Broker CRM | Exactly-once deposits and withdrawals, live platform sync |
| B2Core | CRM sold with B2Broker's liquidity and platform products | |
| Skale | Large third-party integration marketplace | |
| FXBO | CRM with a large number of payment integrations | |
| Liquidity / bridge | PrimeXM | XCore aggregation engine, MT4 / MT5 bridge |
| oneZero | Hub technology for brokers, banks and LPs | |
| Gold-i | Liquidity bridge, MAM tools, risk management | |
| Tools For Brokers (TFB) | Trade Processor: execution, risk and liquidity hub |
Payments for brokers
Payment processor policy toward FX and CFD brokers changes often, varies by country and is not something a blog post should assert as fixed. Check any processor's current policy directly before assuming it accepts a trading business, card or crypto. What is consistent across brokers is the shape of the stack: a card processor, usually a separate crypto processor, and a back office that reconciles both against client balances without double-charging or double-crediting a deposit.
SGHK does not process payments. As a software provider, it introduces brokers to PSPs and fintechs it works with, and the Broker CRM connects a broker's chosen processors by API once the broker has its own merchant agreements in place.
Choosing between one vendor and several
A broker can buy a platform, a CRM, a bridge and a payments integration from four different vendors, which maximizes choice in each category and maximizes the number of contracts and support lines to manage. Or it can start from a package like Match-Trader's or SGHK's that bundles platform and CRM together and add a dedicated liquidity bridge on top only if the built-in routing is not enough. Neither approach is wrong. The mistake is picking a bridge, a CRM or a platform because of its name rather than because you tested it against your own order flow on a live demo.
"A broker should be able to name its own liquidity bridge, its own CRM and its own platform vendor and explain why each one is there. If a stack was assembled without that reasoning, it is worth a second look before go-live."
— The SGHK Team
Key Takeaways
- A broker stack has four parts: a platform, a CRM, a liquidity connection and a payments relationship.
- Platform names to know: eTrader, MetaTrader 4 / 5, cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader, TradeLocker.
- Liquidity bridge names to know: PrimeXM, oneZero, Gold-i, Centroid Solutions and Tools For Brokers, plus B2Broker as a Prime of Prime liquidity source.
- For payments, check each processor's current policy directly. SGHK introduces brokers to PSPs but does not process payments itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a broker always need a separate liquidity bridge?
No. A broker with a small number of liquidity providers and a platform with built-in routing, such as the eTrader Dealing Desk, may not need a dedicated bridge vendor. A broker aggregating many providers with algo execution and detailed risk tooling usually adds one.
What is the difference between PrimeXM, oneZero, Gold-i and TFB?
Each publishes a similar core function, aggregating liquidity and managing risk between a broker and its providers, with differences in which platforms they connect to and which additional tools, such as MAM plugins or hosting, they bundle in. Compare them against your own liquidity providers and platform before choosing.
Is B2Broker a CRM or a liquidity provider?
Both, sold separately. B2Broker describes itself as a Prime of Prime liquidity provider, and B2Core is its CRM and traders room product, often sold together but usable on their own.
Which CRM connects to the most trading platforms?
Uptrader, FXBO, B2Core and SGHK's Broker CRM all publish integrations across MetaTrader, cTrader, DXtrade, Match-Trader and TradeLocker. SGHK's Broker CRM also connects to NinjaTrader and eTrader from the same account.
Does SGHK act as a broker's liquidity provider?
No. SGHK is a software provider. A broker connects its own liquidity provider over FIX into the eTrader Dealing Desk, or uses the eTrader price feed where it does not need external liquidity, such as for demo accounts.
About SGHK
SGHK is a FinTech company that designs and builds its own software for the trading industry: the eTrader trading platform, Launch your Broker and Launch your Prop Firm. Every product is written, hosted and supported in-house and licensed to trading firms, with the CRMs branded to them, all hosted by us in the cloud, managed by each firm and built to scale across clustered servers as our clients grow. Everything is encrypted, and each firm is the only one with access to its data and its clients' data.