How to Open COL Financial Account Online

In this page, I’m sharing how I opened my COL Financial account online without going to COL’s head office in Philippine Stock Exchange Center in Ortigas. Everyone can do this, too. This is very convenient especially those who are living far away from Manila, those who are from the provinces and those OFWs who reside abroad.

Why I Choose COL Financial?

COL Financial is one of the best online stock brokers in the Philippines. There are other big online trading brokers out there like BPI Trade, Philstocks, First Metro Sec, etc. but I’ve decided to choose COL Financial because I was impressed with their stock market research and updates. Their company is also listed in the PSE. Besides, I love their EIP program and the availability of Mutual Funds on their platform.

Before you open COL Financial Account:

I recommend you prepare your email address and I suggest you use Gmail simply because it is less spammy. I also suggest you have an active Anti-virus software in your computer because let’s face it, you will going to trade and this is like banking. You need to have secured internet transactions at all times. You don’t want to be risking your login username and password. I recommend Norton 360 because you will have complete computer + complete internet protection.

COL website uses https and it’s already secure but I still recommend using Norton for total online protection for everything that you’re doing online.

Prepare for your TIN (Tax Identification Number). If you don’t have any yet, you can get TIN online. If you lost your TIN or you forgot it, you can retrieve it here: Verify TIN

col accounts
source. COL Financial

Decide what type of COL account you need to open. Personally, I selected the COL Plus because it has EIP and streamlined features. As an investor, you know you don’t only need to grow your funds but your investing skills as well. You can’t be on EIP forever, honey.

Procedures How to Open COL Financial Account Online:

Step 1: Gather the complete documents required

You will need to fill out the forms and sign them properly. Write in Block letters, meaning all capital letters. Make sure the email address you provide is really yours and you are the only one who use it because this is where COL will contact you regarding your application. All transaction notifications and confirmations regarding your COL account will also be sent in your email address.

COL Financial Account Requirements:

  • Download Application Forms (CAIF, OSTA, and Specimen Signature Cards) and print them out.
  • Photocopy of 1 Government Issued Valid ID
  • Funds to your COL account (I used BDO online banking)
how to open col financial account online

Step 2: Send your documents

Have your documents delivered to COL Financial’s address. I used LBC delivery service. COL received my package the next day and they emailed me with the message, “Welcome to COL Financial….” That’s the start of it 🙂

Step 3: Fund your account

Make your initial deposit to fund your trading account. I had to make initial deposit of P25,000 to fund my COL Plus account. I used BDO online banking for this. Funds were immediately transferred to my COL account. The complete instructions were discussed here: “How to Fund COL account using BDO Online”

Step 4: Start trading in real time

Finally, COL sent me my log in password and my account was active. I can then trade real time. I logged in my COL account and changed my password. It’s always safe when you’re the only one who knows it.

How to Open COL Financial Account Abroad?

If you are living and working overseas, you can also open your COL Financial account by going to any iRemit Branches. COL Financial has partnered with iRemit. Just bring your signed forms and clear copies of your valid IDs and submit them to iRemit.

Other Investment Guides:

Fehl is the founder of Philpad. She has a degree in Accountancy and a background in Finance. She is a licensed Career Service Professional and author of a poetry book at Barnes & Noble. In her spare time, she likes to travel and vlog.

140 thoughts on “How to Open COL Financial Account Online”

    • I saw online that we can now open /sign up account online, is that correct? Also is NBI clearance allowed as Govt issued ID? THANK you so much!

      Reply
  1. Hi. I’m planning to open a COL account using the primary and secondary account (joint) holders. Unfortunately, my partner is currently based in New Zealand. Can I use his electronic signatures instead? Thank you for your time.

    Reply
  2. Good Day,

    I’ve been reading this and I am very much interested to invest, I do have have a question, do I have to have a credit card to invest?

    That’s all and Thank you for posting this.

    Reply
  3. Hi Ms Fhel.
    Thank you for sharing this information to us.
    I am an OFW. I would like to invest in stocks.
    Ask ko lang po aside from TIN, ano pa po ung requirement to open an account?
    Also, do i need to have a bank in the Philippines po?

    Thank you.

    Albert

    Reply
    • Hi, Albert 🙂 1 valid government issued ID is required. Having a bank account is not necessary BUT it will help you to easily and quickly fund your COL account whenever you want to invest so I’d say have one.

      Reply
  4. Hi Ms. Fehl, good day. Narinig ko na po tong Col Financial from one of my former officemates years ago. I’m planning to invest at least 5k kasi in progress na yung backpay ko(almost 2 months palang ako sa current company). May Sunlife naman ako(health insurance + investment) eh gusto ko po kasi mag invest sa stocks.

    Ang main concern ko po is kung paano ifill out ung form specially yung part na about financial kasi nung nagtry po ako magfill out, para akong nanghuhula ng isasagot kaya itinigil ko. Kahit overview lang po siguro kung paano ifill out kasi baka pag mali mali eh hindi iapprove.

    Sana po maconsider nyo tong request ko. 🙂

    Reply
    • Hi, from the Financial and Invetsment Profile section;

      Assets – include any thing that you own such as cash, house and lot, cars, investments, companies or anything that has economic value. Estimate the total amount and choose the value from the options.

      Net Worth – these include assets less your liabilities (utang)

      the rest are self explanatory 🙂

      Reply
  5. Hi Mam kung 60 years old na po at gustong magopen account ok lang po ba and if start funding ok lang ba na magstart ng 10 k then palaki ng palaki in 5 to 10 years kasi time is short lately lang ng makita itong investment …Thank you…

    Reply
  6. Ms. Fehl, napawow po ako sa patience niyo to help people. I really appreciate it much po because I’ve learn a lot from Q and A here. Thank u very much…

    Sam

    Reply
  7. Hello Ms. Fhel!

    Ofw here in Taiwan. Ippdla q na po sna ung Documents q sa COL using LBC pero d daw po pwede na wlang taong tatanggap. Bakit po ganun? D daw po pwede pdala sa establisment if wlang specific na taong tatanggap?

    What do you think po?

    Reply
  8. Hello miss fhel,,

    I will be opening an account in COL this or next month.

    I would like to ask if it is allowed to upgrade your account from STARTER to PLUS??

    Also, how do you withdraw your earnings if you choose to invest without a BDO account??

    Reply
  9. Hi Ms. Fehl,
    I’ve been through to your blog and its very interesting. I really like it! Thank you for all those productive guidelines in trading and I wanted to open an acct. for me. Allowed po ba ako mag-open kung dito po ako nakatira sa Canada?

    Reply
  10. Hi ms fehl,

    Nag send na po ako ng application thru lbc tapos nag email po ang col financial sa akin pero na delete ko…paano ko po ba ma follow up ng application ko?

    Reply
  11. Hi Miss. I am planning to open a COL account starter lang muna. Wala po ako sa manila so pag ipapadala po ba yong mga requirements thru LBC, do we have to notify them or automatic na po un at iinform na lang po ako pag nareceive n nila?

    Thanks po, more power and godbless

    Reply
  12. hi ms. fehl. I already enrolled an acct. with COL and when I funded my acct
    with 25k only 24990 went thru on my COL acct. and my account was still in starter, my question ms. Fehl is how I can change my account to COL plus?

    Reply
    • COL charges 10 for every funding transaction, dati wala yan. Last year lang nagstart. Add more fund para maging 25K and request an upgrade by contacting COL Financial

      Reply
  13. Hello miss fehl, student lang po kasi ako, wala pa akong TIN number. Nabasa ko rin kasi sa COL na form 1904 dapat sa students, may nabasa naman ako di kailangan 1904 basta may TIN number. Ano po ba talaga? Thanks po

    Reply
  14. Hi Ms. Fehl, I’ve been wanting to open an account with COL Financial but I have this concern, do I need a laptop to do transaction like buying and selling stocks or can I just use a smart phone or perhaps a tablet to do the task? Right now, I don’t have a laptop and all I have is a smart phone and a tablet. And I am not into the idea of checking my account on public computers. How about Sunlife? Can I use a smart phone or tablet for Sunlife transaction? Thanks for you reply. More Power!!

    Reply
    • Hi, Mutya. Yes, I recommend laptop and desktop with Internet Security software installed like Norton. COL has no active mobile app that I know usable as of now. Sun Life Ph has an app but from reviews, they had many errors.

      Reply
  15. Hi ms Fehl,

    I want to ask a question. I am aware that In COL they dont have entry fee in buying mutual funds unlike the MF companies. But I am somewhat curious if they do have exit fee? lets say I want to sell my mutual fund in less than a year? Do I need to pay for exit fee like on direct MF?

    Thanks and regards,
    Ethelbert

    Reply
    • You need to pay early redemption fee if you will redeem before the Holding Period. COL may have zero sales load for now but they may change that rule anytime.

      Reply
      • Hi po mam, do u have tutorial videos on all of this and where I can follow you? I need some enlightenment and more knowledge about this. Thank you so much..

        Reply
  16. hi miss fehl pag napasa na po mga requirements agad agad po ba mag deposit for funding the accounts or wait for col’s instruction bago mag deposit . thanks po and more power parati po kami nag babasa ng mga blogs mo malaking tulong po samin thanks!

    Reply
  17. Helo Ms. Fehl,

    Thanks for your being unselfishness, just a quick question.

    I need to use my wife’s name/detail on my behalf to open COL account because I don’t have TIN which is one of the requirements (am OFW), I am the one who will fund the account, there will be no problem on that case? maybe somewhat COL will ask my wife’s financial status.

    Thanks in advance…

    Nelson

    Reply
    • Hi, they don’t ask for financial statement or financial status because it is a free will to invest 🙂 Anyone is welcome. As long as your wife submitted and truthfully filled out the forms provided by COL (for her application) and submitted her valid ID, her account will be opened. Do not worry too much 🙂

      Reply
  18. Hi when I submitted my forms they required me to have a Skype Interview with them before they approve my account. Did you have this as well?

    Reply
    • Hi, they didn’t require me Skype interview perhaps because my docs were complete and they no longer needed more verification. I submitted copies of 2 government issued IDs, latest credit card statement and signed forms I downloaded from their website

      Reply
      • Hi Fehl, I submitted the forms and credit card statement but only submitted one government issued ID and they asked me to resend it via email. All’s good though. Thanks for your response
        !

        Reply
        • Hi Rae, when you submitted the credit card statement and forms, they did not require any skype interview na? Thank you.

          Reply
  19. Hello fehl

    Quick question. Pag COL Starter 5k lang ang I open ko. Hindi ba ako pwd mag enrol sa EIP nila?

    More power fehl. Thanks sa help.

    Reply
  20. Hi there! As for the account number, will t be emailed to be together with my password after my application has been approved? Thank you.

    Reply
  21. Hi there! I’ve been wanting to open an account in COL and invest in the stock market. I know investing in stock market takes courage and risk but i’m really not ready to take big risk yet so i am planning to choose the col Starter with a minimum investment of P5000. Do you have any input as to what stocks are good and reliable to purchase for beginners like me? Thank you and keep writing informative posts. ^_^

    Reply
  22. Hi Ma’am! I have already received a confirmation that COL has received my application. However, it’s been two weeks but there’s no update from them regarding my next step. I’m excited to get started. How long does it usually take for an application to get approved?

    Reply
      • “As of November 03 2015, we no longer require a billing statement to open an account with COL. We have already removed this from our list of requirements on our website.”

        from Tasha – COL FINANCIAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT

        Reply
        • After po b amagdeposit ng 5K, pwede ko xang hulugan anytime??? and if naka25K na po ako iuupgrade n po b ung account ko sa COL plus?

          Reply
      • Good evening mam, ask ko lang po student po kasi ako, okay lang po ba na wala akong TIN # or need ko po talagang kumuha? Salamat po.

        Reply
  23. Hi mam fehl ask ko lang po pwede po ba mag open ako ng acnnt tapos kapatid ko po mag mmange kasi isa po akong seaman sya po sana mag mmange kapag onboard po ako

    Reply
  24. Hi Ms Fehl. Ive been reading your blogs several times now and I am learning. I am so much eager to invest on stocks. Just want to be clarified on : after funding my account with COl, let’s say 10K, can i just leave everything to COL to manage my money then just wake up one day to check whether money has earned?Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi, thank you for visiting my blogs. COL is a broker. They handle stock transactions such as buying and selling. They don’t manage funds. Your funds won’t earn or grow unless you do something about it. It’s up to your strategy – how you buy or sell your stocks or how you play the market

      Reply
  25. Hi,

    Is TIN card and/or NBI Clearance a valid ID for opening COL account? And for the proof of billing, we are renting lang kasi.. is it ok if di naka-name sa akin yung utility billing statement?

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  26. hi ms fehl,

    ok lang ba photocopy ung billing statement? o kelangan original? for example sa lbc, kelangan ba naka envolope o folder bago ko ipadala? or meron na sa lbc? ty po.

    Reply
      • Did COL require you to submit an original bank crrtificate or do a skype video call with a sales officer? Based on COL’s website, at least one is required for non appearance application.

        Reply
        • For non-appearance, they require either of the two. But that is effective on Nov 3. If you submit an application before that, your billing statement and ID are enough

          Reply
  27. Hi Fehl,

    Good day Mam, can i make my parents as a secondary holder of my account in col? since all the billing address is address to my parents. I’m very excited for the mutual fund that’s offering by the col very versatile one for sure.
    Your blog will be my reference for the future decision 😛
    Thank You for an informative blog. God Bless! 🙂

    Reply
    • I think you can do that but the account will be named after you and your parent. Thank you for the visit 🙂 I also post investment guides for stocks and MF at Dailypik.com

      Reply
      • Hi ms. Fehl this is zeus. I submitted the required docs last dec 19 but i haven’t received their confirmation yet. I indicated my bdo acct #. Is bank certificate required? Tnx in advance

        Reply
          • maam fehl, wala po akong utility bills pati parents ko wala rin kc nakatira km sa iisang lugar,Philex Mines, d2 po libre bahay electricity and water..pwede ko po bang gamitin utility bill ng brother ko?pero magkaiba po km ng lugar..nasa baguio siya..

  28. Hi Ms. Fehl! If I open COL plus, and I want to invest a fixed amount of money monthly into my account, is there a minimum investment that I should follow?

    Reply
    • COL Plus requires 25K funding but there is no minimum investment to follow every month or anytime. You are in control of your money and investments 🙂

      Reply
  29. HI Fehl,
    I’ve been reading your blog all night and it’s been a great tool to widen my know-how about investing. I’m interested in opening an account in COL for 5k I just wanna what if I don’t have billing statement that’s under my name since we currently renting together with my parents. How do I proceed for me to provide the said requirement because that’s the only one which I don’t have.
    Thanks in advance. More powers.

    Reply
    • Same here. We use to live with my Mother-in-Law before i came here in Abu Dhabi so I don’t have billing statements under my name or my hubby’s name.

      Reply
  30. Good morning ms. Fehl,

    Is it okey if i open a starter acct then invest 5k or more monthly for let say 10 years without buying or selling a stock monthly? Then how my investment will grow?
    Hope for your kind consideration. Thank you and god bless.

    Eve

    Reply
  31. hi ms. fehl i just want to ask i dont have any latest bīll statement,, s sister ko po nkpangalan ung mga bills s bahay,,, what should i do,, and ok lng po b if i used bank of commence to transfer fund to col?? thank u ang more power…

    Reply
  32. hi ms fehl, i just want to ask po if ok lng n ibang bank account ang gamitin, my savings po kc ako s bank of commerce,,, to buy a stock for col

    Reply
  33. Hi Fehl,

    Pag COL Starter 5k starting investment ang account mo, then your investment reached the 25K Investment, automatic ba magiging COL plus account mo?

    Thanks

    Reply
  34. Hi Miss Fehl, inspired by Bo Sanchez, I encouraged my kasambahay to invest also in stock market but the problem is she does not have a billing statement under her name. 🙁 Is there anything we can do about that? She has TIN aslready and an SSS ID.

    Reply
  35. Hi Fehl thank you for sharing!! Your article can be very helpful for those begginer lyk me, i just want to ask if is it ok if im going to put an additional investment after 3 months…

    Thank you…!!

    Reply
    • Fill up the necessary forms (can be downloaded at their website) and submit/mail them together with the requirements at their Business Office Address (also posted in their website) then wait for their email

      Reply
  36. hello ms fehl, could you please give me the exact COL financial address in which i will be sending my application form. Am very much interested in investing.thank you very much…

    Reply
    • COL Business Center
      2403B East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Center,
      Exchange Rd. Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1605 Philippines

      that’s their address as of now

      Reply
  37. Hi Ms. Fehl, how many days does it usually take before they’ll send me my account? possible kayang after BDO fund transfer ok na agd? habang mababa sana ang FMV today.

    Reply
  38. Hi 🙂 I love your posts. Can i just ask cuz i just turned 18 and I don’t have those utilities bills under my name what can I do to still create an account?

    Reply
  39. Hi, I’m getting excited now as I am reading ur post. Before reading this i already have uitf and i am so glad that I already did the initial step hehe, planning to open the eip in bdo and finally once i read all about stocks i will open it too.

    I really admire ur advocacy, even some of the questions are redundant, you still have time to answer it… only people with so much can do it, so once i reached my goal i will also do the same,,,

    Reply
    • Hi Donnel. It’s a good thing that you’re excited. Not only you’re going to a brighter place, you’re also enjoying the journey. Cheers!

      Reply
  40. Ma’am, with regards to having a TIN , is there any some kinda obligatory fee for maintaining one -say annualy? Thanks. (Studyante pa lang po kasi 🙂 )

    Reply
  41. Good day!

    I appreciate your blogs and all I can say is its super easy to understand. I’m about to open my COL acct but I only have one question. If I open my acct as starter can it be upgraded to plus anytime?

    Reply
  42. Hello, Fehl!! I have a TIN when I worked on a Temporary status in one government agency I worked with. Should I use it if sover I want to open an account with COL? Thanks and more power!

    Reply
  43. i’m interested in opening an account i just turned 18 this year and I’m wondering what should I do cause I still dont have any Government Valid ID (my voter’s id not yet released) and for the Latest Utility Billing Statement is it okay if its not named under me (cause my parents are paying for it) and for funds is it okay if I use BPI sorry i have so many questions ,,,

    Reply
  44. Hi ma’am, so the initial amount for investing is 5k (minimum) right? so how is that? Will I be required to give off 5k monthly? and what if after 10 yrs Ive grown my stocks into 7M pesos. Can I use that money already? (i.e. for business, or to buy a house) Thankyou

    Reply
    • That 5K is the initial amount to open EIP account. 25K is need for COL Plus and 1M for Premium account. It doesn’t mean you need 5K monthly. That is only the required fund to OPEN an EIP account. Your COL account is your wallet. You can use the money in there to buy and invest on stocks. If your stocks have grown to 7M value, you can get the money by selling your stocks. Then withdraw your money from your COL account. 🙂

      Reply
      • Hi Fehl!

        I wanna ask if I can just transfer my funds in COL account to a Bank account, just like how you fund your COL account? Or is there a COL card, maybe, suitable for any atm machines? Haha How can you withdraw your money?

        By the way, you really have great articles. Thank you so much! 😀

        Reply
        • Hi! You can withdraw your funds in your COL Financial account by submitting a Fund Withdrawal form, which you can download by logging in to your COL account’s HOME and then to FORMS and send that form via fax or email to their Accounting dept. You can also pick up as a check. Contact COL thru the email and phone number they provided in the Welcome email when you enrolled your account. There is no online way or direct transfer I know as of now.

          Reply
  45. One more ma’am 🙂 Is it possible to use other banks – I use MB – or COL has struck hands exclusively with BDO? Thanks again 😉

    Reply
  46. Hi milady Fehl, does COL starter has a feature where-in you can trade stocks directly and view stocks graphs, earnings, etc.? Also, how much is the minimum starting funding for COL plus? Thanks 😉
    p.s. Seems you are not dating your articles, would be good if you date it especially those one’s about jobs, et al.

    Reply
    • COL Plus has those but I’m not sure with Starter since I’m using COL Plus. Minimum fund for Starter is P5K, P25K for COL Plus and 1 Million for Premium. Yup, I don’t use dates for SEO purposes 🙂

      Reply
  47. hi miss Fehl, good day! Your post is so much helpful for a beginner like me. Thank you for the info that you have shared. God bless u more.
    Just want to ask if after opening a COL account,will you still have 2 pay monthly after paying the initial amount? Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Hi Eric! Nope, you don’t have to pay monthly. COL account is your platform to buy, sell, trade and invest in stocks. You are the one who controls it. You are not obliged to buy or do anything monthly. The money (equity) in your COL account is all yours. If you scheduled EIP, you must follow it. Like I said, you control everything. 🙂

      Reply
  48. Currently here in UAE, and I’ve been reading everything about stock market, from “what” to “how” these past couple of months. I just gathered up all necessary papers and documents to open an account with COL Financial and will submit it these coming days. I must say, I’m impressed with how Edward Lee is managing his company and how he envision their growth in another 15 years with a very optimistic approach. Further more, they’re planning to integrate mutual funds to their current platform to make it more diversified and accessible for their client. That’s a very good news! I’m looking forward to that. Meanwhile, I need to open an account first before everything else. I’m also planning to open COL Plus. Excited to enter the world of trading:)

    Reply
    • COL offering mutual funds would be so interesting 🙂 Also looking forward to that. Hope to see you again on my next posts about stocks 🙂

      Reply
  49. HI Fehl,

    Is there a transfer fee when u fund your COL using BDO online banking?
    I would like to do this to avoid hassle and a much higher cable charge since I work abroad.
    thanks in advance.

    Reply

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