– Access to RTRS
RTRS transactions can be made by all entities, both natural and legal persons, which have been approved for operating in the exchange market, with two types of access possible: direct and indirect.
Direct access is reserved for the so-called Exchange Members and means being allowed to place orders and make transactions directly on the Exchange using the Exchange’s transaction system (trading system) and settling the transactions directly with the Clearing House. Obtaining the Exchange Member status is limited to entity categories specified in the Commodities Exchange Act and requires meeting specific terms and conditions set out in exchange regulations. In practice, such a status is obtained by professional entities, the business of which involves trade in financial and commodity instruments, e.g. brokerage houses or commodity brokerage houses. Such an access requires paying the Exchange and Clearing House participation fees, paying contributions to the guarantee funds in the Clearing House, and maintaining the proper technical and organisational infrastructure and qualified personnel (brokers). The advantages of direct operations in the market mainly include lower transaction costs (no agent fees; only fees charged by the Exchange and the Clearing House) and the possibility of rendering paid brokerage services for other trading participants.
Indirect access is a recommended form of operation within RTRS for all the other market participants and involves placing orders and making and settling transactions through an Exchange Member approved for RTRS. In order to obtain the indirect access, an agreement for operating an exchange commodities account and a related cash account needs to be concluded with a selected Exchange Member (the Exchange publishes the list of Exchange Members allowed to operate within RTRS on its website). Having concluded the agreement, the Exchange Member that handles the participant provides them with communication media / tools allowing them to place orders and access market information, and settles transactions directly with them. There are much less formalities required to obtain the indirect access than to obtain the Exchange membership. It is also a cheaper solution for most parties interested in making transactions via the Exchange on one’s own account. Transaction unit costs in this case are, admittedly, higher (due to brokerage commissions added to the Exchange and Clearing House fees), but there are no fixed costs that need to be borne in relation to the Exchange membership.
