Chicago Merc Sets Direct Access Fee: $300 Per Month For Vendors, Users

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has instituted a direct access fee, effective April 1. For the first time ever, the futures exchange will charge $300 per month to each market data vendor or end user firm receiving the CME feed direct.

Compared with the $625 direct access fee that the CME's neighbor the Chicago Board of Trade now charges, CME's so-called Info Access Fee is modest. But the fee does represent yet another line item on the long list of costs associated with managing a ticker