Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, the Fintech company of the year 2018 award winner, launches the Contra 2.0, reaffirming its commitment to simplify equity broking for the convenience of its clients and to woo more online traders.
The Contra 2.0, is an enhanced version of its existing Contra trading platform that was launched last year. The upgraded platform offers a lower brokerage fee to match its Cash Upfront facility, making the charges the lowest as compared to its competitors. Previously brokerage charges for Rakuten Contra Account ranged from RM8 to a maximum of 0.15% of the trading value but now with the Contra 2.0, charges range from a minimum of RM7 to a fixed maximum amount of RM100.
In addition to the lower brokerage fees, Contra 2.0 also offers a Day Trade Rebate Programme for investors who buy and sell on the same counter within the same day. The rebate will be applied to their ‘SELL’ brokerage fees when they buy and sell the same stock on the same day. The rebate will be credited into their account at the end of the trading day.
“Contra 2.0 is a game changer. It completely revolutionizes the contra trading platform currently available. Our objective is to encourage more people to trade online and we believe that by keeping things simple such as reducing brokerage fees and adding a Day Trade Programme on top of the current Contra Trading platform, we can do exactly that,” said Kaoru Arai, managing director of Rakuten Trade.
He was confident that with Contra 2.0 Rakuten’s client base would increase, adding that Rakuten currently boasted a total of 27,000 accounts as at March 1, 2019 of which more than 10% are contra account holders and that contra trading has attracted new investors who are mostly below 40 years-old with trading experience between one and three years.
“With Contra 2.0, we are able to provide investors with even greater value and cost efficiency, while ensuring a seamless trading experience. Our clients can now trade MORE for LESS,” he noted.
A Contra trading account is an account where investors are extended a spending limit based on the shares or cash placed as collateral. Then depending on the shares the investor intends to buy, Rakuten Trade will extend a multiplier of up to 5x more. Investors, however, would have to make settlement within three days.
