Financial data processors are the next layer in the service chain between users of financial data and

financial data vendors A financial data vendor provides market data to financial firms, traders, and investors. The data distributed is collected from sources such as stock exchange feeds, brokers and dealer desks or regulatory filings (e.g. an SEC filing). History Fin ...

. Most data is now delivered as bits and

byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...

s and not in a physical format. Data is fed through web pages and as "raw" data files. Files are either processed by banks or by third-party companies – financial data processors who provide additional added value to those companies who choose to use them.

Services offered

;Pricing validation : Price validation services enable users to streamline their operations and reduce the risks inherent in activities such as NAV production. Acting as a managed service provider, a financial data processor will take raw data from the clients' chosen data sources and subject it to the processor's validation routines before onward delivery. ;Counterparty Price Collection and Validation : A Counterparty Collection service provides a unique collection, reconciliation and validation service for OTC derivatives and other illiquid instruments. ;Corporate Actions/Dividends Validation : A corporate actions service enables users to streamline their operations and reduce the risks inherent in fund administration. The financial Data Processor will act as a managed service provider, and take raw data from the clients' chosen data sources and subject it to the processor's validation routines before onward delivery.

Added value

Working with an end user, a financial data processor can process raw data feeds or services to help a user achieve: * Reduction of operational risk. * Validation of hard to price instruments. * Reduced chance of a breach of Service Level Agreements. * Clearly defined audit trail.

List of processors

* Adaptive Modeler *

CQG CQG is a US-based company creating financial software for market technical analysis, charting, and electronic trading. CQG specializes mostly in the futures market but provides both real-time and historical data from more than 100 exchanges from ...

* Esignal * MetaStock * Money.Net *

MetaTrader 4 MetaTrader 4, also known as MT4, is an electronic trading platform widely used by online retail foreign exchange speculative traders. It was developed by MetaQuotes Software and released in 2005. The software is licensed to foreign exchange brok ...

* TradeStation Financial services organizations {{finance-stub