I currently have Bank of China and SPDBank accounts. For some reason, I can't get online banking to work for either. At first, I thought it was due to BOC's ineptitude, but now I'm seeing a trend. Did anyone else have problems with online banking? Any fixes? I feel like it may have something to do with the computer that I am using...

Which browser are you using? ICBC doesn't work in firefox only in IE maybe BOC and SPD are the same?

BOC works fine for me. *Sarita is correct that you will need to use IE.

Go here http://www.boc.cn/en/index.html
Click on the BOCNET Login link on right side.
You will see in under the place where you should enter your username and password:
'At the first log-on, please download and install"security control".' Click on the link and install the Applet.

Now try to log in. You need your username, password and RSA token number.

I can view my account history on CCB using safari. But I cannot do any transaction due to that stupid thumbdrive not compatible with Mac.

Thanks all. I've tried with IE, but I'm still having issues. I'll keep going. Anyone having luck with China Construction Bank? I'm thinking about signing up with them.

SoMike wrote:Thanks all. I've tried with IE, but I'm still having issues. I'll keep going. Anyone having luck with China Construction Bank? I'm thinking about signing up with them.

I've got a CCB account and up until last month it was fine, now for some reason i can't log in, it's like they've updated the website or something. Anyone noticed this? If so is there a work around or is it the usual 'have to go into branch' solution?

with BOC online. In english , can you convert foriegn currency to rmb in your account?

Standard Chartered works well in Firefox. No dongles. English version seems way better than ICBC's. Unfortunately not as many branches around.

cantcheckemailnopw wrote:with BOC online. In english , can you convert foriegn currency to rmb in your account?

No, but you can exchange your foreign currency to another ones, as i heard.

I have SPD Bank account and I did get my online banking to work.

And I have used it to buy stuff from taobao.com.

But when I first applied for online banking, there were no instructions given to me on how to log on.

I tried a few times but apparently, as a first time user, you must go through special steps to validate yourself. There is also a default password for initial login. Eventually I went to customer service at SPD and they showed me how it is done, etc.

There are 2 types of login: simple and random password (issued to your cell phone for each login)

And it is pretty confusing between account no , bank card no and another number.

There is also 2 different passwords: one for logging onto to the website and another for transaction.

So my advice is to go to the bank and understand from them.

Apparently, the bank's website is not designed like US banks where it is user friendly.

FYI, I use IE 8 for logging on.

ie6.0 got better performance with BOC Online

I think I'll try yet again with China Construction Bank. Whichever bank gets this working for me will have 100% of my business. Why is online banking so hard out here?

SoMike wrote:Why is online banking so hard out here?

How hard ? Locals buy/sell stock on-line, trasfer money, pay bills, even exchange currency .. what else we want ? Another question what the banks have zero responsibility for lost money (if any) with banking, so kindly keep it in mind. Ideal variant is having different accounts../for saving/for bills/for shopping/etc/etc/ .. imho

Ip Man wrote:I can view my account history on CCB using safari. But I cannot do any transaction due to that stupid thumbdrive not compatible with Mac.

Yep, I have a Mac and was wondering if I'd be able to get the online banking to work. Would VMWare do the trick or am I simply screwed?

Let me rephrase that for you . . . . .

Ip Man wrote:But I cannot do any transaction due to my stupid Mac being not compatible with anything anyone uses in the real world.

Why try at home and have problems ? Just go to the bank's customer service and ask them to show you. It would be much faster.

piston2001 wrote:Why try at home and have problems ? Just go to the bank's customer service and ask them to show you. It would be much faster.

Because they have their computers / web browsers configured to allow this to work. A lot of Chinese based websites simply aren't compatible with English browsers. For instance, Firefox usually works with nothing out here. Even though it might work in the customer service area, it won't necessarily work for me until I figure out how to configure my browsers / computer.

As an aside, I went into BOC to ask about online banking and they weren't able to get it working in person. They told me that they were having internet problems and for me to try from home to get it to work (it didn't).

SoMike wrote:A lot of Chinese based websites simply aren't compatible with English browsers.

Dude, don't be paranoid. It's work but under IE only, period.

I guess I was lucky then. I was just having trouble with the bank's log on method than browser issues.

I agree Firefox is a problem for online banking. Better to use IE in this case. If the online banking supports English interface, it should support IE since that's what most foreigner's PCs have.

SoMike wrote:

piston2001 wrote:Why try at home and have problems ? Just go to the bank's customer service and ask them to show you. It would be much faster.

Because they have their computers / web browsers configured to allow this to work. A lot of Chinese based websites simply aren't compatible with English browsers. For instance, Firefox usually works with nothing out here. Even though it might work in the customer service area, it won't necessarily work for me until I figure out how to configure my browsers / computer.

As an aside, I went into BOC to ask about online banking and they weren't able to get it working in person. They told me that they were having internet problems and for me to try from home to get it to work (it didn't).

How to use Chinese online banking interfaces?
How to use Alipay and get through its payment system?

I am sure you will find this brief tutorial/guide very useful, it goes through all the major banks with some screenshots and step-by-step tips:

http://fb.cityweekend.com.cn/Intro