OCBC throws wrench in iFast's stockbroking plans

Singapore

ONLINE investment products retailer iFast Corp learned on Friday that if it wants to use a Singapore stockbroker's services to attack that stockbroker's bread-and-butter business, it should expect a fight.

iFast's new FSMOne platform hit a snag on Friday when counterparty OCBC Securities inexplicably stopped providing a connection to the Singapore Exchange (SGX). That disconnection came one day after iFast introduced a stockbroking service that allowed users to trade Singapore-listed shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs) at relatively low commissions.