EquiX - Trading Platform
We helped a US-based Fintech company to modernize their trading platform called EquiX. It turned out a modern and user-friendly solution with first-class functionality, and a scalable tech foundation. Our client achieved significant increase in platform usage and user satisfaction rate skyrocketed.
TEAM
16 Members
STARTED IN
2024
FINISHED IN
10 months
Country
USA
Industry
FinTech
OVERVIEW
About the business
We were reached by Summit Holdings Group - a US-based financial services company with over 15 years of experience in the investment sector. The company operated primarily in the North American market and specialized in providing online access to stock trading, ETFs, bonds, and other traditional financial instruments.
The business model of the Summit Holding Group is centered around empowering self-directed investors with tools that combine analytical depth, speed of execution, and regulatory compliance. Their user base ranges from first-time investors to experienced traders.
The company's core offering is the EquiX trading platform. It serves thousands of retail investors, semi-professional traders, and wealth management clients.
OVERVIEW
Project tasks and challenges
Summit Holdings Group approached us with a clear goal to redesign and modernize their legacy trading platform EquiX. It was working without any major updates in over seven years. The main issue of the platform was that the outdated UI, lack of responsiveness, and inconsistent user flows were increasingly failing to meet the expectations of modern-day traders and investors.
But as we discovered, the problem was not only in outdated UI. The existing codebase was a mix of outdated front-end libraries and monolithic server logic. It posed serious maintainability, scalability, and performance issues. Therefore a complete modernization of both design and tech architecture was essential.
So we set the following tasks for this project:
Design:
- Perform complete redesign of user journeys across all key touchpoints: market dashboards, stock detail pages, order flows, and portfolio management.
- Focus on accessibility, real-time data display, and responsive layouts across web and mobile.
- Create a scalable, reusable component library using Storybook and TypeScript. Unify styles with custom theming (light/dark mode) and design tokens.
Coding:
- Perform migration from legacy jQuery-based front-end to React for the web platform.
- Introduce React Native for a fully rebuilt mobile application (iOS & Android) with shared logic and unified design.
- Implement modern state management using Redux Toolkit, and introduced Code Splitting for better performance.
- Refactor monolithic PHP/Java server into modular services using Node.js (Express).
- Build new APIs for real-time stock data, order execution, and portfolio syncing.
- Add middleware for handling authentication, rate-limiting, and compliance checks.
Testing & CI/CD Setup:
- Introduce automated testing across the stack: Jest + Testing Library (front-end), Supertest + Mocha (backend).
- Set up CI/CD pipelines via GitHub Actions and Docker-based deployment.
Security & Compliance:
- Migrate authentication to OAuth2 + JWT-based sessions.
- Ensure compliance with FINRA, SEC, and GDPR requirements regarding data privacy, audit trails, and consent management.
Among the main challenges that appeared during modernization we can name the following:
- The existing platform was built on outdated technologies (jQuery, Bootstrap 3, PHP backend) with tight coupling between frontend and backend logic.
- Lack of documentation and inconsistent coding standards slowed down onboarding and required careful reverse engineering before refactoring.
- Legacy backend couldn’t handle modern real-time features like instant order book updates or push notifications.
- Close collaboration with Summit Holdings' internal IT team was required to align backend integration and maintain compatibility with internal trading APIs, third-party data vendors, and security layers.
OVERVIEW
Project team
• Project Manager
• Business Analyst
• 3 UX/UI Designers
• 4 Front-end Developers
• 3 Back-end Developers
• 3 QA Engineers
• DevOps Engineer
• Solution Architect
5
months for Discovery & Design
8
months for development &
testing
React.js
Redux
TypeScript
WebSockets
Styled Components
Storybook
React Native
React Navigation
Firebase
Node.js
REST
Redis
Jest
React Testing Library
Bitbucket
Terraform
PLATFORM FEATURES
Web platform features
Level 2 Market Depth
EquiX offers real-time order book with 16+ hotkeys for fast order entry and enhanced visibility into market liquidity.
Trailing Stop Orders
The app can automatically adjust stop prices as the market moves, helping users protect their profits .
Short Locate
There is a built-in short locate tool with real-time availability and pricing, and “mark for credit” functionality optimizing short inventory usage.
Options Support
We designed full-featured options interface with chain views, strike filtering, and the ability to execute multi-leg strategies.
Custom Watchlists
There are multiple, fully customizable watchlists synced with other platform modules for seamless symbol tracking and research.
Charting Tools
User can make secure online payments, set auto-renewals, and view transactions history.
Real-Time Portfolio Monitoring
We designed a unified dashboard to provide users with live P&L tracking, position summaries, and instant access to order modifications.
News Feed & Market Movers
We integrated financial news and dynamic leaderboards highlighting top gainers, losers, and high-volume stocks, filtered by exchange or market.
EquiX. Custom Dashboards
PLATFORM FEATURES
Custom Dashboards
Our client wanted to add to EquiX a flexible workspace builder that will help users to create personalized trading dashboards tailored to their individual workflows and strategies.
So we developed a custom dashboards feature to let users:
- Add and arrange widgets such as watchlists, real-time charts, market movers, news feeds, performance tables, and technical indicators.
- Sync symbols across widgets, enabling a seamless flow of information when switching between stocks or ETFs.
- Save multiple layouts based on trading style (e.g., day trading, portfolio monitoring, options tracking) and switch between them in one click.
- Manage components using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
- Use pre-built templates or build dashboards from scratch.
- Share dashboard layouts with teammates or advisors.
EquiX. Conditional Orders
PLATFORM FEATURES
Conditional Orders
We integrated an advanced order management feature that allows traders to automate complex strategies by transforming multiple conditional actions into a single logical flow.
By using this feature, traders can easily set up a primary trigger order (e.g., Buy if a stock hits a specific price). They can also automatically place secondary orders (e.g., Sell limit or Stop-loss) right after the first order is filled.
On top of that, we added an option helping traders to define custom conditions using price ranges, routes, time-in-force, and order types. They can benefit from using range orders to layer in multiple conditions for greater precision and control.
PLATFORM FEATURES
Mobile App Features
Trade Execution
Users can buy and sell stocks in a few taps with simplified order types, real-time confirmations, and biometric authentication.
Smart Notifications
We added customizable alerts for price movements, portfolio changes, news on tracked assets, and order execution status.
Watchlist Sync
All traders can easily create and manage their watchlists that stay in sync across the mobile and web versions of Equix.
Quick
Portfolio Snapshot
There is a mobile-optimized summary of portfolio performance, recent trades, and key market movers.
Face ID /
Fingerprint Login
To ensure fast and secure access to the app we integrated biometric authentication for supported devices.
In-App
Education Center
Equix includes bite-sized tutorials, videos, and tips for beginner investors that can be opened within the app interface.
Dark Mode Support
Our designers added a clean and distraction-free dark theme optimized for low-light environments and battery saving.
Offline Mode for Portfolio View
Equix caches data to allow users to view their portfolio summary even when they do not have an internet connection.
EquiX. Personalized Home Screen
PLATFORM FEATURES
Personalized Home Screen
To provide traders with the quick access to key market insights, actionable signals, and daily investment ideas, we created a personalized home screen. It’s an intelligent and user-centric feature designed specifically for mobile users of EquiX.
Here is what options traders can benefits from:
- Live updates on major indices (e.g., S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones) with clear gain/loss indicators.
- Financial headlines personalized to user preferences and portfolio holdings and updated in real time.
- A visual indicator based on aggregated technical signals and analyst outlooks.
- Highlighted opportunities selected by algorithm or editorial team, including price, % change, and market context.
- Buy/sell recommendations with target price zones and trade rationale.
We added direct access to core sections like Orders, Portfolio, Watchlists, and Funds for even more user-friendly navigation. Home screen designed by our team gives EquiX users a high-impact overview that informs their decisions before they even delve deeper into the app. It is convenient for both beginner investors and active traders.
EquiX. Stock Detail View
PLATFORM FEATURES
Stock Detail View
We designed a comprehensive stock information screen to ensure fast decision-making and real-time trading on mobile devices. Here is how it works: when a user opens a specific stock, they get instant access to key data points and trading actions. Those actions include:
- Stock price with real-time change in value and percentage.
- Color-coded buttons to place orders instantly.
- Open, High, Low, and Close prices for the trading session.
- Live order book with best bid/ask prices and total market depth.
- Option to switch to full technical chart view.
- Access to details like company profile, earnings, analyst ratings.
PROJECT JOURNEY
Development approach
Our main goal was to rebuild core parts of EquiX without disrupting day-to-day operations or compromising performance, security, or compliance. So we focused on iterative approach that included the following phases:
Discovery & Technical Audit
Before any coding began, we conducted a full audit of the existing platform architecture, frontend and backend code, and third-party integrations. This helped us to identify:
- Tight coupling between UI and business logic
- Outdated libraries (jQuery, Bootstrap, custom charting engines)
- Monolithic backend with limited scalability
- Lack of test coverage and CI/CD processes
Based on this audit, we mapped out a phased modernization strategy with minimal disruption to users.
Parallel Architecture Planning
To ensure a smooth and safe transition, we avoided rewriting the entire system at once. Instead, we gradually introduced modern components alongside the legacy platform. We used:
- Micro-frontend approach. It allowed us to replace specific UI sections with React-based modules step by step.
- Backend APIs. We isolated key business logic into standalone services using Node.js and Express, exposing them via clean REST endpoints.
- Proxy Layer. The middleware handled routing between new and old components to ensure seamless integration during the transition.
Frontend Modernization
We rebuilt the entire UI using React with TypeScript, and introduced a reusable component library with Storybook, built on a responsive layout grid and design tokens. The new UI supports:
- Real-time data updates via WebSockets
- Adaptive layouts for desktops and tablets
- Customizable dashboards and theming (incl. dark mode)
In parallel, we developed the mobile app in React Native, ensuring consistent UX and code reuse across platforms.
Backend Refactoring & Integration
The backend was restructured into smaller, maintainable Node.js services. Key upgrades included:
- API gateway and modular services for trading logic, user data, and analytics
- WebSocket server for live pricing and order updates
- Redis-based caching for high-frequency data endpoints
- Secure auth via OAuth2 + JWT
We preserved critical connections to Summit Holdings' proprietary trading APIs and data vendors, wrapping them in secure and standardized interfaces.
Testing, QA & DevOps
We introduced automated testing and a robust CI/CD pipeline:
- Jest & Testing Library for frontend unit and integration tests
- Supertest for backend API coverage
- Manual QA on real devices and browsers
- Bitbucket Pipelines + Terraform for consistent staging & production deployment
- Sentry for error tracking, Postman/Newman for API monitoring
Ensuring Security & Compliance
Given the platform’s financial nature, we baked in security and regulatory compliance from day one by implementing:
- HTTPS everywhere, data encryption at rest and in transit
- Secure login, session handling, and role-based access control
- Logging and audit trails aligned with FINRA/SEC requirements
- Consent tracking and GDPR-ready data handling
UI decisions that make sense
4 images
RESULTS
OUTCOME
The modernization of EquiX delivered tangible outcomes to our client’s business. By redesigning the platform from the ground up and migrating to a modern tech stack, Summit Holdings Group gained a solution that is a solid foundation for future growth.
Here are the key results our client observed within the first 3 months after launch:
- 63% growth in mobile usage thanks to the new React Native app and simplified user flows
- 28% increase in customer satisfaction based on NPS and in-app feedback
- 42% fewer support requests related to platform navigation and usability
We can say that the modernization of Equix will have a long-term impact. Its modular and scalable architecture will help to perform easier integration of new features and third-party tools. We helped to reduce technical debt and simplify onboarding for future development teams.
Due to modernized backend services and added reusable front-end components, our client managed to cut infrastructure and maintenance costs.
All in all, with the new version of EquiX, Summit Holdings Group strengthened its market position and is now better equipped to evolve alongside the financial industry and its users’ needs.
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