My favorite online
trading platform since I began stock trading online is BPI Trade of BPI
Securities Corporation, a company owned by Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Unlike other
online platforms which require enormous amount of minimum balance before you
can do online trading, BPI Trade allows you to trade stocks online as long as
your BPI Trade bank account has sufficient balance to buy shares. You just need,
though, to maintain the Monthly Average Daily Balance requirement (P500.00 as
of this writing), so that you will not be charge with the monthly service fee (P150.00
as of this writing) once you fall below this limit.
Another very
interesting about BPI Trade is that, your trading bank account is treated like
a savings account where your cash balance will earn an interest on an annual
basis.
To open a BPI
Trade account, you can do the following;
- Open a deposit account with either BPI, BPI Family Savings Bank or BPI Direct Savings Bank. You will use this account later on as your settlement account with your BPI Trade Bank account. Enroll this account with BPI Express Online later on for funding and banking convenience.
- Connect with your internet and go to the BPITrade website at http://www.bpitrade.com.
- In the BPI Trade portal, click “Open an Account” on the middle-lower portion of your screen.
- Read the ONLINE EQUITIES TRADING TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Click “I AGREE” if you are into agreement with the said terms and conditions.
- On the ONLINE APPLICATION screen, click the corresponding application type you want to enroll (either Individual or Joint Account).
- Fill-up the online application forms completely. Please give special attention to those with asterisk marks as these information were mandatory with your application process.
- Print the online application forms. Do not sign your signature yet as you will sign this when you submit this in your bank for signature verification.
- Bring the application forms together with two (2) valid identification cards, photocopies included, to your nearest BPI or BPI Family Savings Bank.
- Sign the application forms in the presence of the Branch officer and request the Branch office to verify your signature.
- Submit the completed, signed and verified forms, including the photocopies of your identification cards to the Branch officer. The BPI branch will take care of sending the forms to BPI Fulfillment Banking.
- Once your account have been verified and approved, an email notification on how to fund or deposit to your account will be sent to the email address you declared in your application form.
- Your BPI Trade bank account requires a minimum Monthly Average Daily Balance of only Php 500.00.