In plain English
What No dealing desk means
In a no-dealing-desk model, the broker is not sitting in the middle making a discretionary price decision on each trade. Orders are usually processed electronically and routed onward. That can reduce manual intervention, but it does not guarantee better prices, no conflicts, or instant fills.
Why it matters
The label helps explain how an order may be processed and whether the broker is likely to internalize flow or pass it through. For traders, the important question is the execution path, because it can affect pricing, slippage, requotes, and whether the broker acts as principal or agent.
Example
A client buys GBP/USD and the order is routed automatically to a liquidity provider rather than being manually accepted by a dealer. If liquidity is thin, the fill may still move away from the quote, so the absence of a dealing desk does not prevent slippage. This is a simplified example.
Quick answers
Common questions
Does no dealing desk mean no conflict of interest?+
Not necessarily. It can reduce some conflicts, but it does not remove all of them.
Is no dealing desk the same as ECN?+
No. ECN is a specific electronic network concept; no dealing desk is a broader execution-description term.
Sources