Complexity Is the New Risk: Peter Plester on What Defines B2B Trust in Brokerage Today

From a B2B perspective, the challenge is no longer a matter of scaling, it is a matter of structural complexity. In an environment defined by faster markets, always-on trading behaviour, and increasingly fragmented ecosystems, technical weaknesses surface with unprecedented speed.

Peter Plester, head of B2B sales at Exness, argues that this shift is already changing the criteria brokers are evaluated on. “The industry isn’t just scaling. It’s becoming structurally more complex. And complexity, more than volume, is increasingly the main operational risk,” Plester notes. In this landscape, operational capability has transitioned from a back-office function to a critical commercial requirement.

This evolution is reflected in the broader market trajectory. The online trading platform industry, including front-end systems and underlying infrastructure that services supporting brokerages, is projected to expand from roughly 11.65 billion USD in 2025 to 16.98 billion USD by 2030, with a CAGR of around 7.8%. For Plester, this growth reinforces a broader point: as the market matures, institutional-grade performance is no longer a luxury; it’s the baseline expectation at retail scale.

The Three-point Pressure Shaping B2B Trust

Today’s brokers are navigating three pressures that are becoming more intertwined each year. Plester explains, “From a B2B perspective, the pressures that stand out are technical, oversight, and credibility. Partners and clients want evidence, not reassurance.”.

This technical pressure demands that systems behave consistently during volatility, not just during periods of calm. Oversight pressure has made due diligence more rigorous, especially when third-party dependencies are taken into consideration. Finally, credibility pressure means brokers are assessed by whether their systems remain predictable when conditions are least forgiving.

This framing shapes a specific growth philosophy. For Plester, sustainable scaling is defined by treating complexity as inevitable. Successful brokers build for the stress of growth early, investing in fundamentals that rarely generate headlines but prevent systemic failure: redundancy, capacity planning, and disciplined change management. They measure success through the partner’s lens—prioritizing execution stability and uptime over purely visible metrics.

The Invisible Risk of Operations

One of the most significant challenges in the industry is that “operational risk remains quiet until it is too late,” Plester argues. “ It doesn’t fall neatly into one function. It sits across technology, operations, product, and commercial teams.”

Risks often persist in the functional gaps between these teams, and because they don’t affect day-to-day performance, it’s very easy to deprioritize them in favor of growth or feature delivery. Leadership teams naturally focus on what can be tracked and reported in real time: revenue, volume, and market share.

“Markets eventually apply real pressure, and pressure compresses time. Weaknesses that seemed manageable quickly become expensive,” he warns. Weaknesses that seem manageable in stable conditions can surface quickly, and the cost of fixing them can rise significantly when volatility accelerates.

Trust Built Through Outcomes

For Plester, this is where trust becomes tangible. In the B2B sector, trust is rarely built through messaging. It is built through outcomes. “Trust is earned through consistent outcomes, not promises. Partners judge trust by predictability: execution behaves as expected, withdrawals are processed reliably, and systems remain stable,” he explains.

When issues do occur, what matters is speed of detection, clarity of ownership, and transparent communication. Over time, consistent operational performance reduces friction, escalations, and uncertainty across the relationship. This is when brokers stop being treated as service providers and begin to be seen as long-term partners.

Looking Toward iFX EXPO Dubai 2026

The conversation surrounding these new standards of B2B trust will continue in person next month at iFX EXPO Dubai 2026 (10-12 February). Peter Plester will be joining industry leaders on stage at the Dubai World Trade Centre for a panel discussion on the structural standards required for the next generation of brokerage.

In an era where complexity is the new risk, the message for partners is clear: growth may attract attention, but only consistent reliability earns a seat at the table.