Lessons from a year of TA.Link adoption
10 June 2025
Reflecting on a year of client engagement with TA.Link, Trading Apps’ leadership team — Matthew Harrison, Stefan Bates, Matt Phillips, Stefan Ebrahim, and Ross Levin — share key insights and lessons learned from the platform’s implementation
Image: stock.adobe.com/Matcha_09
Over the past 12 months, Trading Apps has observed how clients are navigating the increasing complexity of securities finance. A rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, rising expectations for automation, and the persistent friction of legacy systems have created a new urgency for operational change.
One of the ways firms have responded is by turning to more flexible and adaptable communication frameworks.
Adapting to operational pressures
Clients implementing TA.Link — Trading Apps’ configurable messaging solution — over the past year, have been primarily driven by the need to reduce friction in workflows. Siloed email communication and static file exchanges have made it increasingly difficult to maintain control and speed under growing transaction loads.
Transitioning to an API-first messaging model has helped many firms move away from error-prone manual tasks and improve turnaround times on trade negotiations, availability updates, and lifecycle events. Configurability has been key, enabling firms to tailor the messaging structure to fit within their existing operational and system constraints.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of TA.Link’s journey has been seeing clients turn previously manual workflows into highly automated, resilient ones, without needing to overhaul their entire infrastructure,” explains Stefan Ebrahim, head of delivery.
Clients have also highlighted that the predictable cost structure of TA.Link delivered as a fixed, low-cost solution, makes it easier to justify investment, especially when internal resources are constrained. This transparency has helped shift the conversation from ‘can we afford to modernise?’ to ‘can we afford not to?’.
Structured data flows have also improved internal auditability and data governance, a growing concern for compliance and operations teams alike.
Evolving regulatory expectations
As firms adopt more automation, they face a new challenge — how to remain agile while keeping pace with regulatory change. Clients have increasingly requested support for messaging types beyond traditional trade workflows.
Structured communication around recalls and returns has been a major focus. The manual handling of these actions has historically created delays, miscommunication, and operational risk. With standardised messaging, firms can better manage these interactions with traceability and accuracy.
Another emerging area is Know Your Customer (KYC) messaging. With regulatory regimes such as AML5 and evolving global standards, clients are expected to demonstrate robust counterparty awareness. Several firms have shown interest in using TA.Link to send and receive KYC status updates and onboarding flags in real time, helping both sides of a transaction meet compliance requirements without separate systems or workstreams.
Re-rates have also emerged as a priority. Traditionally handled through fragmented communication, re-rate processing often introduces operational overhead and delays. Trading Apps is actively collaborating with multiple TA.Link users to design a standardised messaging solution that addresses these pain points. The goal is to streamline re-rate workflows with the same configurability and automation benefits clients have come to expect across other TA.Link use cases.
“Clients have been clear: automation isn’t just about efficiency anymore — it’s about compliance and resilience,” comments Matt Phillips, chief operating officer.
In practice, firms see messaging flexibility to future-proof operations. They have expressed interest in extending structured communication to areas such as collateral eligibility, ESG flags, or Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) status changes without needing to spin up new tech every time.
The growing cost of legacy infrastructure
Despite the appetite for change, many clients are still encumbered by legacy systems. These platforms — often built on expensive legacy messaging infrastructure, hard-coded logic, and limited integration capabilities — are becoming more than just inefficient; they also pose significant compliance risks.
This is especially true in regions facing mandates like the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in the EU, where secure, resilient, and timely communication is no longer optional and can be costly, since non-compliance with DORA can result in significant penalties for financial institutions in the EU.
DORA mandates financial entities to implement both primary and redundant backup systems for communication. This requirement ensures continuous communication channels. Redundant systems help maintain operational integrity and resilience by providing a fallback option if the primary system is compromised. In the US, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) encourages the implementation of resilient systems and redundancy to ensure continuity of operations.
Similarly, for firms pursuing SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 or equivalent attestations, legacy infrastructure often lacks the observability and control required. “The technical debt of legacy systems is becoming a business risk,” notes Stefan Bates, chief technology officer. “Our clients need agile platforms that can support compliance mandates without compromising performance.”
Several clients have utilised TA.Link as an overlay to swiftly modernise their external communication, avoiding the need for a complete system overhaul. It is not a permanent solution, but it buys time while longer-term architectural shifts are planned.
A view from the frontlines
Over the past year, one message is clear from our clients: the biggest barriers to automation and compliance in securities finance are not strategic, they are architectural. While firms are aligned on the need to evolve, many remain limited by inflexible tools and legacy infrastructure that were never designed for today’s speed, complexity, and regulatory intensity.
As automation shifts from a competitive advantage to a strategic necessity, the future of securities finance depends on the ability to deploy agile, resilient, and interoperable technology. This goes beyond just messaging, firms need infrastructure that supports real-time data exchange, system interoperability, and configurable workflows at scale.
By using modern technologies, such as APIs, cloud-native platforms, and rule-based decision engines, we see that clients are improving straight-through processing rates, reducing operational and counterparty risk, and meeting evolving regulatory requirements with greater confidence.
TA.Link plays a critical role in this transformation. Its real-time, structured messaging capabilities enable clients to create operational headroom, increase transparency, and build more robust compliance frameworks without waiting for full system overhauls.
“We’ve built TA.Link to be more than just a messaging tool — it’s a strategy enabler,” says Ross Levin, head of strategy. “It’s rewarding to see clients turn that potential into tangible outcomes.”
At Trading Apps, we believe that technology built for configurability, rapid deployment, and seamless integration, backed by scalable, high-throughput processing and enhanced data normalisation (including support for the Common Domain Model), will unlock dynamic results for securities finance operations.
One of the ways firms have responded is by turning to more flexible and adaptable communication frameworks.
Adapting to operational pressures
Clients implementing TA.Link — Trading Apps’ configurable messaging solution — over the past year, have been primarily driven by the need to reduce friction in workflows. Siloed email communication and static file exchanges have made it increasingly difficult to maintain control and speed under growing transaction loads.
Transitioning to an API-first messaging model has helped many firms move away from error-prone manual tasks and improve turnaround times on trade negotiations, availability updates, and lifecycle events. Configurability has been key, enabling firms to tailor the messaging structure to fit within their existing operational and system constraints.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of TA.Link’s journey has been seeing clients turn previously manual workflows into highly automated, resilient ones, without needing to overhaul their entire infrastructure,” explains Stefan Ebrahim, head of delivery.
Clients have also highlighted that the predictable cost structure of TA.Link delivered as a fixed, low-cost solution, makes it easier to justify investment, especially when internal resources are constrained. This transparency has helped shift the conversation from ‘can we afford to modernise?’ to ‘can we afford not to?’.
Structured data flows have also improved internal auditability and data governance, a growing concern for compliance and operations teams alike.
Evolving regulatory expectations
As firms adopt more automation, they face a new challenge — how to remain agile while keeping pace with regulatory change. Clients have increasingly requested support for messaging types beyond traditional trade workflows.
Structured communication around recalls and returns has been a major focus. The manual handling of these actions has historically created delays, miscommunication, and operational risk. With standardised messaging, firms can better manage these interactions with traceability and accuracy.
Another emerging area is Know Your Customer (KYC) messaging. With regulatory regimes such as AML5 and evolving global standards, clients are expected to demonstrate robust counterparty awareness. Several firms have shown interest in using TA.Link to send and receive KYC status updates and onboarding flags in real time, helping both sides of a transaction meet compliance requirements without separate systems or workstreams.
Re-rates have also emerged as a priority. Traditionally handled through fragmented communication, re-rate processing often introduces operational overhead and delays. Trading Apps is actively collaborating with multiple TA.Link users to design a standardised messaging solution that addresses these pain points. The goal is to streamline re-rate workflows with the same configurability and automation benefits clients have come to expect across other TA.Link use cases.
“Clients have been clear: automation isn’t just about efficiency anymore — it’s about compliance and resilience,” comments Matt Phillips, chief operating officer.
In practice, firms see messaging flexibility to future-proof operations. They have expressed interest in extending structured communication to areas such as collateral eligibility, ESG flags, or Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) status changes without needing to spin up new tech every time.
The growing cost of legacy infrastructure
Despite the appetite for change, many clients are still encumbered by legacy systems. These platforms — often built on expensive legacy messaging infrastructure, hard-coded logic, and limited integration capabilities — are becoming more than just inefficient; they also pose significant compliance risks.
This is especially true in regions facing mandates like the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in the EU, where secure, resilient, and timely communication is no longer optional and can be costly, since non-compliance with DORA can result in significant penalties for financial institutions in the EU.
DORA mandates financial entities to implement both primary and redundant backup systems for communication. This requirement ensures continuous communication channels. Redundant systems help maintain operational integrity and resilience by providing a fallback option if the primary system is compromised. In the US, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) encourages the implementation of resilient systems and redundancy to ensure continuity of operations.
Similarly, for firms pursuing SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 or equivalent attestations, legacy infrastructure often lacks the observability and control required. “The technical debt of legacy systems is becoming a business risk,” notes Stefan Bates, chief technology officer. “Our clients need agile platforms that can support compliance mandates without compromising performance.”
Several clients have utilised TA.Link as an overlay to swiftly modernise their external communication, avoiding the need for a complete system overhaul. It is not a permanent solution, but it buys time while longer-term architectural shifts are planned.
A view from the frontlines
Over the past year, one message is clear from our clients: the biggest barriers to automation and compliance in securities finance are not strategic, they are architectural. While firms are aligned on the need to evolve, many remain limited by inflexible tools and legacy infrastructure that were never designed for today’s speed, complexity, and regulatory intensity.
As automation shifts from a competitive advantage to a strategic necessity, the future of securities finance depends on the ability to deploy agile, resilient, and interoperable technology. This goes beyond just messaging, firms need infrastructure that supports real-time data exchange, system interoperability, and configurable workflows at scale.
By using modern technologies, such as APIs, cloud-native platforms, and rule-based decision engines, we see that clients are improving straight-through processing rates, reducing operational and counterparty risk, and meeting evolving regulatory requirements with greater confidence.
TA.Link plays a critical role in this transformation. Its real-time, structured messaging capabilities enable clients to create operational headroom, increase transparency, and build more robust compliance frameworks without waiting for full system overhauls.
“We’ve built TA.Link to be more than just a messaging tool — it’s a strategy enabler,” says Ross Levin, head of strategy. “It’s rewarding to see clients turn that potential into tangible outcomes.”
At Trading Apps, we believe that technology built for configurability, rapid deployment, and seamless integration, backed by scalable, high-throughput processing and enhanced data normalisation (including support for the Common Domain Model), will unlock dynamic results for securities finance operations.
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