Bahrain’s SICO, BENEFIT team up to offer services for online trading

Bahrain-based Securities & Investment Co. (SICO) and BENEFIT, the country’s conduit for all electronic financial transactions, have announced a partnership to offer payment and settlement services for online equities trading.

The deal will sync BENEFIT’s payment channels with SICO’s online platform, sicolive. This will allow investors to transfer funds from their retail bank accounts to their SICO investment accounts, SICO said in a statement.

The collaboration will offer features such as order management, position settlement, online access to trading accounts, and instant generation of statements.

The new service will go live before the end of this year, SICO said, adding that the agreement covers accounts at all banks in Bahrain that are members of BENEFIT.

“This will further empower our clients, allowing them to make more informed and cost effective investment decisions,” said SICO CEO Najla Al Shirawi.

“The long term result will be increased liquidity on the Bahrain Bourse and a healthier stock market overall by allowing small investors seeking better income and capital growth to easily build and control their investments,” she added.