Shari-Shari: Investing in US Stocks for Filipinos
Investing in the stock market has become a popular way for individuals to grow their wealth and secure their financial future. In the Philippines, accessing international stock markets, such as the US stock market, has traditionally been difficult for individuals. However, with the rise of online trading platforms, it has become much easier for Filipinos to start investing in the stock market. One such platform is Shari-Shari.
What is Shari-Shari?
Shari-Shari is a registered trading platform in the Philippines that provides Filipinos with the opportunity to invest in the US stock market and other financial markets. It is a BSP Registered Operator of Payment System (OPS) with registration number: OPSCOR-2021-0030.
Pros of Using Shari-Shari
Ease of Funding
The main reason why most Filipinos are having difficulty entering the US stock market is due to the limited funding options of other trading platforms. Luckily, it’s easy to do so with Shari-Shari. Here are the available options:
- InstaPay bank transfer
- e-Wallets like GCash, Maya, or Coins.ph
- Unionbank online
- PESONet bank transfer
Low minimum deposit amount
You can fund your account for as low as 1000 pesos.
BSP-registered company
Since it’s a Philippine company, Shari-Shari is a BSP Registered Operator of Payment System (OPS).
Cons of Using Shari-Shari
Potential for high fees
There are several fees that you will incur when using Shari-Shari.
- Onboarding fee – a one-time fee of 599 pesos
- Funding fee – it will cost you an admin fee when you fund your account (the exact amount can be checked once you log into the app)
- Withdrawal fees – there’s an admin fee of $5 aside from wire transfer fees which is about $50 for international wire transfer
- Monthly account fee – $0.2 per month
- Other brokerage fees
Limited withdrawal option
Although you can use eWallets to fund your account, you need to have a bank account to be able to withdraw your money. In addition, you can only use banks that are PDDTS (Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer System) participants.
How to create an account
Creating an account on Shari-Shari is a straightforward process. Here are the steps to follow:
- Go to the Shari-Shari registration page.
- Using the link above will take you directly to the sign-up page where you need to fill out the required fields. The fields include your full name, email address, and password.
- Click on the “Sign up” button.
- You will receive a confirmation email from Shari-Shari.
Note: Before you can start investing, you will still need to verify your identity. The verification process is done via the platform once you sign in to your account. Verifying your identity will require the submission of documents such as a valid ID and proof of address. You will also be required to pay the onboarding fee (599 pesos).
Blogger’s Corner
I no longer have an active account with Shari-Shari. At one point, I paid for the onboarding fee and was planning to use it but the additional fees made me think twice about funding my account completely. In the end, I opted to use eToro to get into the US stock market.
Good evening po. Tanong ko lang po kung para saan po yung onboarding fee? One time payment lang po ba ito?
Hi, yes po. One-time payment sya.
615 pesos po yung binayad ko. yun na po ba yung total cost para mag open ng account, bukod pa yung pag add ng funds after ma verify ng account?
I haven’t checked Shari-Shari for a long time since I’m using eToro, so di ko na napansin na nagkaroon na pala sila ng update sa fees. Onboarding fee is now 599. Then you have to account for the convenience fee na 15 pesos, so yes, 614 pesos magagastos mo sa onboarding pala. Meron ka pang gagastusing Funding fee pag magdeposit ka sa account mo. Unfortunately, they don’t have the exact info on their website and can only be checked kapag naglogin ka which at the moment I no longer have access to since nadeactivate na ang account ko with them.
Thanks for the comment though. I’ve updated the article to reflect the current info about Shari-Shari.
magkano po sir ang binabawas nila like for example nag kana ng 1,000 pesos. how much will be their charge for that and how much will be left from 1,000?
My concern is aside from the onboarding fee (599) and convenience fee ( 15 ) pesos,,, what are the other charges the we need to know about investing to this? example If I start to invest 1,000 pesos, how much is the funding fee for that and how much will be the deposited amount to my account for buying shares? And how about na mag sell na po ako ng shares ko.. Is there another fee? If there is, how much? Is there a monthly fee for my account? What are the hidden charges about Shari shari? I need your response..Thank you
You can refer to their URL page: https://www.shari-shari.io/pricing
According to the page, they have an account funding fee. Though ang sabi sa page, makikita mo lang yung exact amount once you log into the app. Then, they mentioned that they don’t charge a trading fee pero namention nila that Alpaca (their US brokerage) may have fees. I no longer have access to my Shari-Shari account since nadeactivate na sya dahil di ako nag-deposit, other than yung onboarding fee na ginastos ko before. So there’s no way for me to exactly confirm yung details posted on their website.
magkano po sir ang binabawas nila like for example nag kana ng 1,000 pesos. magkano matitira niyan?
kapag nag benta na tayo ng shares,, magkano naman po ang charges nanaman?