OANDA MetaTrader 4 Accounts Go Live

The OANDA version of MetaTrader 4 has been in beta testing for a while now.  It sounds as though that testing is now finished, because today OANDA have announced that it is now possible to use MetaTrader 4 on a live  fxTrade account. I can't find an online version of the press release, so here it is in full:

NEW YORK—February 15, 2011—OANDA Corporation, provider of innovative online forex trading and currency data services, now offers its competitive advantages to traders who use MetaTrader 4 (MT4). When they set up an OANDA trading account or demo account, MT4 traders can continue to use their favorite MT4 tools and benefit from OANDA’s tight spreads, quality fxTrade execution, and transparent business model.

MetaTrader is an electronic trading platform with automated trading capabilities; OANDA has licensed this software to be used with market-leading OANDA Spreads®. The OANDA fxTrade platform bridges directly to MetaTrader using custom technology, which helps keep costs low for traders because there are no third-party fees to link the fxTrade trading engine with the MT4 user interface. OANDA will not use the controversial MT4 Virtual Dealer plug-in, which has been criticized for enabling dealers to bet against clients—a practice that goes against OANDA’s policies of transparency and fairness.

“OANDA has licensed MetaTrader software to offer traders more choice,” said Michael Stumm, CEO of OANDA Corporation. “Many of our clients who use automated trading strategies have asked us to support this popular trading platform, and I’m pleased to say we’re now able to offer them the best of both worlds.”

Notice a couple of points that OANDA are making. They explicitly state that their implementation does not use the MetaTrader 4 Virtual Dealer plug-in that got GAIN and Ikon into trouble with the NFA last year. They also mention that they developed the MT4/fxTrade bridge themselves, so unlike many of their competitors they have no need to pay a portion of their spread to third-party bridge software suppliers.