End of "Legacy" Yahoo Messenger: Thomson Reuters and CME Group Announce Integration of Instant Messaging Networks

Thomson Reuters and CME Group will integrate their instant messaging networks, providing a combined service to over 300,000 financial and commodity market participants.

Thomson Reuters Corporation (Thomson Reuters) Wednesday announced that it will integrate their instant messaging network, Thomson Reuters Eikon Messenger, with that of CME Group Inc. (CME Group), CME Pivot Instant Messaging, providing a combined service to over 300,000 financial and commodity market participants.

The move follows news that, as Ship & Bunker reported in June, Yahoo Inc. (Yahoo) from August 5, 2016 will no longer support its "legacy" Yahoo Messenger (YM) platform, which is the current messenger of choice and for the bunker industry, as well as many others in the wider energy and commodity industries.

Thomson Reuters and CME Group say that, following the announcement of YM's discontinuation, they witnessed a surge in new instant messaging account registrations in the month of June.

"Instant messaging platforms have become a popular tool for communication in financial markets. However, many of these platforms operate in silos and increased regulatory scrutiny has forced market participants to examine their ability to avoid exposure to unnecessary risk in using these platforms," said Shaun Sibley, managing director of supply chain and commodities at Thomson Reuters.

"This collaboration further increases the number of people in commodities and financial markets that can now communicate seamlessly with each other. Together, we are enriching these communities without disrupting workflow, increasing costs, or compromising the robust compliance and security standards that need to be addressed in order to participate in today's marketplace."

The companies said the combined Thomson Reuters Eikon Messenger and CME Pivot Instant Messaging service will be available late in the third quarter of 2016.