FX Connect Connector

Capture, archive, and surveil FX Connect chat and communications within Shield’s end-to-end eComms compliance platform, ensuring every conversation behind every trade is preserved, searchable, and surveillance-ready.

What Is the Shield Connector for FX Connect?

FX Connect, part of State Street’s GlobalLink suite of e-trading platforms, is one of the most widely used FX execution venues for institutional investors worldwide. Used daily across more than 250 trading desks in over 30 cities, FX Connect supports the complete FX trading lifecycle from pre-trade order management and execution through to post-trade settlement across spot, forwards, swaps, and non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) spanning more than 300 currency pairs.

As FX Connect has evolved from a straightforward execution venue into a deeply integrated, end-to-end trading workflow platform, the communications and data it generates have become central to regulatory compliance. Every negotiation, order instruction, trade confirmation, and post-trade communication that flows through FX Connect is potentially in scope for capture, archiving, and surveillance under MiFID II, MAR, Dodd-Frank, and equivalent regulations globally.

Shield’s connector for FX Connect ingests chat messages and associated metadata directly from the platform, delivering it into Shield’s compliance platform for AI-powered surveillance and archiving. Compliance teams gain full visibility over FX Connect activity in context alongside every other communication channel their firm uses without switching between platforms or relying on manual processes.

FX Connect communications are not peripheral data. The negotiations, confirmations, and instructions exchanged on the platform directly constitute the audit trail for regulated FX transactions. Gaps in capture, metadata loss, or delays in ingestion can compromise a firm’s ability to demonstrate compliance with trade reconstruction requirements, respond to regulatory examinations, and defend against enforcement actions.

Why FX Connect Compliance Is Complex

FX Connect presents compliance challenges that go beyond standard eComms capture. Several issues arise consistently across regulated firms using the platform:

• Trade-adjacent communications. FX Connect is an execution venue, not just a messaging platform. The communications it generates are directly tied to regulated transactions, meaning that every message, instruction, and confirmation potentially forms part of the audit trail for a specific trade. Archiving solutions that treat FX Connect data as generic chat content, without preserving its transactional context, produce records that cannot support trade reconstruction under MiFID II or Dodd-Frank.
• FX-specific language and shorthand. FX trading communications are dense with instrument-specific shorthand, currency pair codes, tenor abbreviations, benchmark references, and informal negotiation language. Generic surveillance tools misread this content routinely, generating excessive false positives or missing genuine misconduct signals embedded in standard-looking trade language.
• Multi-counterparty execution workflows. FX Connect supports multi-counterparty request-for-quote (RFQ) workflows where a single order may involve communications with multiple dealers simultaneously. Capturing the full sequence of these interactions — including timing, counterparty identity, and the relationship between communications and execution outcomes is essential for accurate surveillance and trade reconstruction.
• Cross-platform communication patterns. FX negotiations rarely stay on a single channel. A trade may be initiated on FX Connect, discussed further on Bloomberg IB or Symphony, confirmed via email, and followed up on voice. Compliance architectures that silo FX Connect data separately from other channels create blind spots that impair cross-channel investigation and regulatory response.
• Jurisdictional complexity. FX Connect is used by institutional investors across multiple jurisdictions, each with its own regulatory framework governing FX trading communications. A single transaction may simultaneously engage MiFID II obligations in the EU, CFTC and Dodd-Frank requirements in the US, and FCA rules in the UK, requiring a compliance solution capable of meeting multi-jurisdictional retention and surveillance obligations from a single capture point.

Key Features of the Shield FX Connect Connector

Complete Message and Communication Capture Shield captures all FX Connect chat messages, order-related communications, file attachments, and associated data generated on the platform. All message content and metadata are ingested in full, with zero data loss, preserving the complete transactional communication record from first negotiation through to post-trade confirmation.

Full Metadata Preservation. Shield retains the complete FX Connect metadata layer, including user identifiers, counterparty data, timestamps, message IDs, instrument context, and channel-level information. This metadata is preserved in its original form, made fully searchable, and stored as part of the immutable compliance record, ensuring that trade reconstruction, regulatory examination responses, and eDiscovery productions are accurate and defensible.

Immutable, Audit-Ready Archive. All FX Connect data captured by Shield is stored in a tamper-evident, WORM-compliant archive with a complete audit trail. Records are indexed for rapid search and retrieval, supporting regulatory examination responses, eDiscovery requests, and internal investigations. Retention periods are configurable to meet jurisdiction-specific requirements, including the five-to-seven-year standards under MiFID II and MAR, the five-year requirements under CFTC Regulation 1.35, and the six-year standard under SEC Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4.

AI Surveillance Models for FX Communications. Shield ships with pre-configured AI surveillance models calibrated to the specific language patterns of FX trading communications, including currency pair shorthand, tenor and benchmark references, RFQ negotiation language, and the informal register typical of dealer-to-client and dealer-to-dealer FX conversations. Out-of-the-box detection covers front-running, information leakage, MNPI sharing, market manipulation, and personal misconduct. Models are fully customisable to reflect a firm’s specific risk appetite, restricted counterparty lists, and internal policy requirements.

Cross-Channel Correlation. FX Connect data is ingested into the same unified compliance platform as Bloomberg IB, Symphony, email, voice, and every other channel your firm uses — enabling compliance teams to correlate FX Connect activity with communications from all other sources in a single workflow. This cross-channel context is essential for accurate misconduct detection and complete trade reconstruction across the full sequence of a transaction.

Transactional Context Preservation. Shield preserves the relationship between FX Connect communications and the transactions they relate to, maintaining the transactional context that makes FX Connect data meaningful for compliance purposes, rather than treating it as undifferentiated message content stripped of its trading workflow context.

Regulatory Coverage

FX Connect chat and communications data is subject to regulatory capture, retention, and surveillance requirements under multiple frameworks. The Shield FX Connect connector supports compliance with:

• MiFID II (Article 16(7) and Article 25) — Requiring investment firms to record and retain electronic communications related to orders and transactions — including those that do not result in execution — for a minimum of five years, with trade reconstruction capability within three days.
• Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) — Requiring firms to monitor communications for indicators of insider trading, front-running, and market manipulation across FX and other asset classes.
• Dodd-Frank Title VII (CFTC 17 CFR § 23.202) — Requiring swap dealers and major swap participants to maintain daily trading records and recorded communications that constitute a complete audit trail for trade reconstruction, broken down by counterparty.
• CFTC Regulation 1.35 — Requiring the retention of records pertaining to transactions in commodity interests, including written communications such as emails and instant messages related to FX trading activity.
• SEC Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4 — Applicable to broker-dealers, requiring capture, preservation, and production of electronic records in WORM-compliant format for a minimum of six years.
• FINRA Rules 4511 and 3110 — Requiring member firms to archive all communications relating to their “business as such,” with supervision, written procedures, and full audit trail capability in place.
• FCA Rules (SYSC 10A and MAR) — Requiring FCA-regulated firms to record and retain relevant electronic communications for a minimum of five years and to implement effective surveillance arrangements to detect and prevent market abuse across FX markets.
• GDPR and Data Privacy Regulations — Shield’s architecture supports data residency requirements and privacy-compliant data handling across jurisdictions, enabling firms with EU operations or EU data subjects to meet GDPR obligations alongside their financial services recordkeeping requirements.

Other Related Connectors

Shield’s connector portfolio spans the full range of eComms channels and trading platforms used across regulated financial institutions, all feeding into a single unified compliance platform. FX Connect data is always reviewed in the context of every other channel your traders and counterparties use.

• Bloomberg IB Chat
• Bloomberg Mail
• Bloomberg Instant Message
• Bloomberg Chat
• Microsoft Teams
• WhatsApp Business
• Symphony
• ICE Chat
• Zoom
• Voice & Turret
• Microsoft Exchange
• Gmail
• WeChat
• Mobile (SMS/MMS)

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of communications does Shield capture from FX Connect?

Shield captures FX Connect chat messages, order-related communications, file attachments, and the full metadata layer — including user identifiers, counterparty data, timestamps, instrument context, and message IDs. Data is collected directly from FX Connect to preserve chain of custody and ensure the integrity of the compliance record from the point of capture.

Does FX Connect provide native long-term compliance archiving?

FX Connect does not provide a built-in, long-term regulatory compliance archive. Firms need a third-party capture and archiving solution — such as Shield — to meet the recordkeeping, supervision, and trade reconstruction requirements of MiFID II, MAR, Dodd-Frank, FINRA, and other applicable regulations. Shield’s connector fills this gap, delivering FX Connect data into a compliant, auditable archive that meets WORM, retention, and retrieval requirements across all major jurisdictions.

How does Shield preserve the transactional context of FX Connect communications?

Unlike generic archiving solutions that treat FX Connect data as undifferentiated message content, Shield preserves the relationship between communications and the transactions they relate to maintaining instrument context, counterparty attribution, and workflow sequencing through ingestion, archiving, and retrieval. This transactional context is what makes FX Connect records meaningful for trade reconstruction and regulatory examination purposes.

How does Shield handle FX-specific language and shorthand?

Shield’s surveillance engine applies NLP models specifically trained on financial services language, including FX shorthand, currency pair codes, tenor abbreviations, benchmark references, and the informal negotiation language typical of dealer-to-client and dealer-to-dealer FX communications. This contextual understanding reduces false positive alerts and ensures that genuine risk signals are identified accurately, even when expressed in abbreviated or market-specific language.

Can FX Connect data be reviewed alongside other channels during investigations?

Yes, and this is increasingly important for FX compliance. FX transactions rarely involve communications on a single channel. A trade may be initiated on FX Connect, discussed on Bloomberg IB, confirmed via email, and followed up on voice. Shield ingests FX Connect into the same unified compliance archive as every other channel, enabling compliance teams to reconstruct the complete communication sequence surrounding any transaction in a single workflow.

How should firms approach data residency requirements for FX Connect communications?

FX Connect data captured for compliance purposes is subject to the same data residency and privacy obligations as any other business record. Firms operating across multiple jurisdictions — particularly the EU, UK, and APAC — need to ensure their archiving infrastructure supports region-specific storage requirements and is consistent with GDPR and equivalent data protection frameworks. Shield’s cloud-native architecture supports configurable data residency controls, enabling firms to meet jurisdiction-specific requirements without compromising surveillance or retrieval capability.

How quickly can the Shield FX Connect connector be deployed?

Shield’s out-of-the-box connectors are designed for rapid deployment. The FX Connect connector can be configured and activated without extensive IT involvement, and Shield’s onboarding team supports firms through the full deployment and validation process to ensure data flows are complete and accurate from day one.