Tooth thing from Bank of China and 中行网银

[WestTexas]

So I was complaining to one of my Chinese friends about how I can't buy stuff from Chinese websites like Taobao because I don't have a Chinese credit card and she suggested we go to Bank of China to get a card that I could use to buy stuff. We go to the bank and instead of giving me a normal card, they give me this card that has like 20 digits and no expiration date. In addition, they give me this tooth thing where you push a button and some number comes up, and it also has a number on it, and at the same time it sends your cell phone a text message with another number. Anyway, due to the slow Chinese bureaucracy it took like 2.5 hours at the bank to get this stuff, so after I got the paperwork, I just took the tooth thing and my new card and the papers and left.

Now, I'm trying to buy plane tickets online and I have no idea how to use any of this. I am using ctrip's English site, by the way. I tried searching on Baidu for 中行网银怎么用 and the instructions just seemed to tell me how to log in, including something called a 动态口令, which I guess is something related to the tooth thing and the number that pops up. Anyway, I'm not trying to log in, I'm trying to buy something as soon as possible, as the plane tickets seem to be getting bought up quickly. The ctrip website seems only to accept real credit cards (16 digit numbers, expiration date, 3 digit code on back), not the bizarro card thing the bank actually gave me.

Can someone please tell me what went wrong here? I specifically said I wanted something I could use online to buy plane tickets and stuff off taobao. I have no idea what this tooth thing is supposed to do or if I can actually use it to buy anything from Chinese websites, which is what I got another bank account specifically to do. It's kind of late at night and most of my friends are out of town for the holiday, so I can't call them to get help.

[gougou]

What you have is not a credit card, so you won't be able to fill in anything in the credit card section. What you have to do with your card is more like an instant transfer, for which you will have to log in (as described in the instructions, I presume). I haven't used it in a while, but once you log in you should get a query asking you whether you really want to transfer this amount to ctrip, and once you click ok, your order goes through.

[WestTexas]

Weird. I don't think that it's going to work on ctrip. Can foreigners get Chinese credit/debit cards? What I really want is a debit card, not this nonsense.

[skylee]

But you can buy plane tickets on ctrip using credit cards issued outside of China. I have done this a couple of times. It just cost a bit more (the handling fee and exchange charge, etc).

[skylee]

Re the tooth thing. I am not sure what it is (perhaps you can share a picture?). But I also have a code generator associated with my HSBC credit card. I need to key in the code (generated real time by the device) when I conduct certain transactions (request change of credit limit, for example) on HSBC's website. It looks like this -> http://www.google.com.hk/search?q=hsbc+code+generator&hl=zh-TW&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=QYFsUO_tHMW0hAfQr4BQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=471

[imron]

Does ctrip allow for payment via bank transfer or similar? (I can't see the payment page without registering).

I've done online payments with my ICBC account (though not for ctrip) using only a normal bank card (and the ICBC provided USB security key). Having a brief look on Taobao for example shows that on the payment section you can choose "网上银行-储蓄卡", which brings up a list of various banks. Simply choose the bank you're with (make sure you don't choose the 企业 version), and continue payment.

When you select to pay via 网上银行-储蓄卡 you'll be taken to a screen specifically for your bank. I'm not sure exactly how it will work for BoC, however there will be somewhere to enter you bank card number, and also a password/key. That "tooth" thing you have is used for what is known as "two-factor authentication" and is how you get the password. Just press the "tooth" thing, and the password will get sent to your mobile phone. Enter the password and it should make the payment.

[skylee]

This is new to me. In Hong Kong, we either use a code generator to get the code, or the bank sends a code to your pre-registered cell phone number. I haven't come across banks that require a customer to use a device to generate a code to be sent to his cell phone. And I have a lot of credit card / bank accounts (戶口控).

[WestTexas]

I see. Thanks for the help.

But you can buy plane tickets on ctrip using credit cards issued outside of China.

Unfortunately, my American credit card is expired, and the new one never reached me after several attempts at having it sent here. For right now, I'm probably just going to one of those plane ticket places as I've heard they will just use Ctrip and throw like 100 yuan on top of the price, which is fine with me.

[liuzhou]

Can foreigners get Chinese credit/debit cards?

Yes. Debit cards very easily.

[fanglu]

one of those plane ticket places as I've heard they will just use Ctrip and throw like 100 yuan on top of the price,

Actually, if you look around you can find ones that will just charge you the ctrip (or some other website) price. I think they get some kind of commission from the website.

[roddy]

FWIW, I think both elong and ctrip take Paypal now. Might be another option.