online banking – Beijing Kids https://www.beijing-kids.com Fri, 03 Jun 2016 17:24:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 Dumb and Simple: The Trick to Using Taobao without Alipay or a Chinese ID Number https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2014/08/23/dumb-and-simple-the-trick-to-using-taobao-without-alipay-or-a-chinese-id-number/ https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2014/08/23/dumb-and-simple-the-trick-to-using-taobao-without-alipay-or-a-chinese-id-number/#comments Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:00:00 +0000

For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out how to use Taobao without an Alipay account. After setting up online banking at my bank (China Merchants Bank), I kept running into a screen at check-out prompting me for a Chinese ID (shenfenzheng) number. Entering a passport number wasn’t an option, so my online adventures were always foiled there.

But recently, a friend told me she’s always been able to use Taobao without an Alipay account or shenfenzheng number. You just have to go through online banking, she said, and sent me detailed instructions. The answer was so dumb, so simple, and led to an "aha!" moment as I gleefully bought a cave for my pet crayfish, Christopher (don’t ask). I’ve republished my friend’s instructions here – with screenshots.

Before anything, you must have online banking set up; you must go to your bank in person with your passport, but it only takes a few minutes.

Here, I’ve just checked out and I’m being presented with the payment options screen. However, they’re all through Alipay.

Scroll down a bit. You’ll see an alternative option called 网上银行 ("online banking"). It’s very easy to miss because the dropdown menu is collapsed by default. Click on the blue characters that say 选择其他  ("Select another option").

A pop-up window will emerge with all the different banks. I selected China Merchants Bank. Be sure not to confuse your bank’s icon with the ones at the bottom; they’re meant for businesses and enterprises. Then, click the orange button that says 下一步 ("next step").

On the next screen, do not tick the box that says 同意 ("agree"); that will take you to Alipay, which we’re trying to avoid. Just click the orange button that says 登陆到网上银行付款 ("sign in to online banking to pay").

A new tab will open to your bank’s online payment site. Enter your card number; make sure that 借记卡 ("debit card") is selected, not 信用卡 ("credit card"). Click the blue button that says "next."

Click the button that says 免费获取 ("obtain for free") next to the first field; that will send a six-digit security code to your mobile phone. Enter it in the first field. In the second field, enter your debit card PIN. When you click 确定支付 ("confirm payment"), a little white window will pop up. Click 确定 ("confirm") again.

Yay! Success!

You’ll also get a confirmation on your mobile.

Now go out there and shop!

Special thanks to Cerian Foulkes for demystifying Taobao and Tara Talabi for the headline suggestion

Screenshots by Sijia Chen

]]> https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2014/08/23/dumb-and-simple-the-trick-to-using-taobao-without-alipay-or-a-chinese-id-number/feed/ 3 Beware: China’s High Risk Internet Areas https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2013/07/30/beware-chinas-high-risk-internet-areas/ https://www.beijing-kids.com/blog/2013/07/30/beware-chinas-high-risk-internet-areas/#respond  

591 million people in China have access the Internet and out of them, 464 million access the Internet via smartphones and other wireless devices according to the China Internet Network Information Center via a report from the BBC. Instant messaging has been able to integrate services such as shopping, payment and gaming, which have seen an increase by 30 million people in the last six months. But this is not necessarily good news; as of last week Baidu released a risk assessment of the top eight most fraudulent Internet areas according to the Beijing Evening News (Chinese).

 

 

The top eight high risk areas according to Baidu are: online banking, recharging services such as fuel cards, pharmaceutical, online shopping, ticket booking, aftersales services, express courier services and lottery. Out of the eight, the most pertinent are online banking, online shopping, ticket booking and express courier services.
 
Online Banking
If you have a Chinese bank account and have enabled the text messaging services as well as the online banking beware of the fake texts asking you to upgrade your online banking. The trick used here is that once you log in to the “bank’s website”  the criminals get access to gather information you have input and transfer money out of your account. When you receive such text, call the bank to confirm that they sent you a text. It’s OK to play it safe and just ask; it’s your money.
 
Online shopping
New or old Beijing residents’ the one thing you get to do more of is buy things online. We are not saying don’t buy your goods online just use trusted sites. Check to see if the site you are using to buy has an Internet Content Provider record certification. If the deal is too good to be true, it usually is, lower priced goods do tend to have more cases of people being duped after the exchange of information especially banking information. In the case of Taobao for a small fee there are agents who can assist non-Chinese speakers to buy goods.
 
 
Ticket booking
With the holidays coming up (October national break, Christmas, Chinese New Year) buying tickets online is the preferred mode of choice today especially if it’s a discount. Do not fall into temptation, go and buy the tickets from the official airline website or check if the site you are using has a valid Air Association Certification qualification ticket agent.
 
Express Courier
So you have bought the goods online and this is legitimate but the problem comes when the courier services want you to pay or sign before checking if the goods are to your satisfaction. The thing that I learned the hard way was once you sign for the goods, the company is no longer willing to do much about whatever complaints you may have with the products. I usually do not sign till I check and confirm even though the courier is in a rush.
 
 
In 2011, 60 million Internet users incurred losses due to online fraud amounting to RMB 30 billion, where 30 percent of the fraud cases were online shoppers.By June of this year, Baidu reports that they have cracked down on 21 million fake sites.
 
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons

 

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