MiFID Market Data Costs - AI-supported Cost Transparency and Intelligent Data Cost Optimization

The Reasonable Commercial Basis (RCB) is a core requirement under Art. 13 MiFIR. It obliges trading venues and data providers to make market data available at fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory prices. Pricing must be related to the actual costs of producing and disseminating the data. The new ESMA Regulatory Technical Standards (November 2025) strengthened the concrete RCB pricing requirements, including detailed disclosure obligations and a prohibition on unreasonable penalty clauses in market data contracts.

The Consolidated Tape Provider (CTP) consolidates market data from all European trading venues into a single continuous data stream. In March 2026, ESMA selected EuroCTP as the first CTP for equities and ETFs. Operations are expected to launch in July 2026 with a five-year licence term. For financial institutions, this means a potentially cheaper and simpler path to consolidated pre- and post-trade data – a possible counterweight to the high market data costs charged by individual exchanges.

The new Regulatory Technical Standards on RCB pricing entered into force on 23 November 2025. Market data providers authorised before that date benefit from a transition period until 22 August 2026 to align existing contractual arrangements. ESMA also withdrew its previous RCB guidelines in February 2026, as these have been replaced by the new RTS. Financial institutions should review existing contracts promptly and identify any adjustment requirements.

Unbundling refers to the separation of market data packages into individual data types (e.g. pre-trade data, post-trade data, order book data). MiFIR requires trading venues to offer market data not only as a bundle but also individually. This aims to prevent users from paying for data they do not need. Unbundling is closely linked to the RCB obligation: when data is available separately, the individual pricing must also be reasonable and transparent.

We systematically analyse all existing market data contracts against the RCB requirements under Art. 13 MiFIR and the new ESMA RTS. We review pricing models, penalty clauses, bundling arrangements and disclosure obligations. Based on the gap analysis, we develop concrete recommendations: contract adjustments, renegotiations with data providers and the establishment of internal cost allocation structures for end-to-end transparency documentation.

Cost transparency in market data goes beyond regulatory obligation: it is the foundation for informed procurement decisions and budget management. Institutions must be able to trace which costs arise for which data types, usage categories and business units. The new ESMA RTS require data providers to deliver a detailed cost breakdown. On the buy side, clean cost allocation enables internal recharging and demonstration of compliance to auditors and supervisory authorities.

The MiFIR review (often referred to as part of the MiFID III package) introduces significant changes: the legal basis for the Consolidated Tape Provider was established, RCB requirements were specified through binding RTS, and the payment for order flow (PFOF) obligation will be phased out by June 2026. For data providers this means stricter transparency obligations; for consumers the CTP opens the long-term possibility of accessing a central, more cost-effective data stream.