GlossaryAdvanced
Request for Quote (RFQ)
A trading model where a taker requests a price directly from one or more market makers, who respond with a firm, executable quote.
Request for Quote (RFQ) is a trading model where a taker requests a price directly from one or more market makers (see Kaavon's "Market Maker" glossary definition) for a specific trade size, and the market maker responds with a firm, executable quote the taker can choose to accept.
This is a structurally different trading model from a standard public order book: an RFQ price is negotiated for one specific trade size and isn't necessarily visible to the broader market, which can offer better pricing for large trades than sweeping through a public order book's visible liquidity would.
Examples
- A large trader might use an RFQ system specifically to get a firm quote for their full trade size, rather than moving a public order book's visible price by executing against it directly.
- RFQ pricing is negotiated privately for one specific trade, unlike an order book's publicly visible, continuously-updating prices.