It is widely known that OpenAI has strict card binding risk control measures, so I haven't used the API since the $18 credit I received expired.
Recently, I discovered that OneKey has launched a virtual card service, which allows you to bind OpenAI for Plus or API payments using the US card segment 4859. So I registered for one and successfully bound it to OpenAI.
This article briefly records some points to note and the knowledge I gained about cryptocurrency (some of which are speculations and may not be accurate). It does not provide detailed procedures.
Points to Note#
Let's start with some important points.
-
Currently, you can choose from HSBC Hong Kong card (493728), PJSC Hong Kong card (414631), and US card (485997), all of which are Visa cards.
-
You can open multiple cards with one account, and the card opening fee is $1.
-
KYC authentication is required, including facial recognition.
-
It is a Chinese merchant, so the authentication process is quick and convenient. If you mind, then forget about it.
-
OneKey has its main business, which is hardware wallets. The possibility of running away is not very high, but it is still not recommended to keep too much money in any virtual card.
-
Only USDT or USDC deposits are supported, which is a bit troublesome.
-
Overall loss on deposits: I spent a total of ¥181.5, and it became $23.5 in the OneKey wallet, resulting in a loss of more than ¥12. Among them, about ¥7 was the loss from converting RMB to USDT on the blockchain, which means that OneKey charged approximately ¥5 in fees (24 USDT -> 23.5 USD). The overall loss is about 6.6%, and the loss caused by OneKey is about 2.8%.
-
Currently, there is no monthly fee during the public beta phase. After the beta ends, the monthly fee will be $1 according to the current statement.
-
For transactions in non-primary currencies, there is a 1.25% transaction fee. In other words, if I use this card to pay in RMB, there will be a 1.25% transaction fee, but there won't be any fee for paying in USD.
Registration#
Link: OneKey Card
I saw an article before that said an invitation code is required during the public beta period, and the link above includes it (0PLVHF). Now, it is unclear whether it is still required.
You need to register using Google, complete the real-name authentication, and then bind two-factor authentication. It is said that Google Authenticator is required for two-factor authentication, but I tried using 1Password and it worked too. It should be universal. (Recently, 1Password joined the GitHub Student Pack, so you can use it for free. It's really useful.)
The instructions along the way are clear, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Depositing Cryptocurrency#
Since OneKey only supports deposits of USDT or USDC, you need to deposit one of these two currencies.
It is best to buy 25 of them because OneKey recommends depositing more than 20, and there have been losses in the previous steps.
I chose USDT and bought 25 of them from Ouyi using Alipay for ¥181.5. After the purchase, the coins are in the exchange and will be frozen for 24 hours.
One day later, on the OneKey website, click on "Deposit" -> "USDT" -> "Tron", and then on Ouyi, click on "Withdraw to the blockchain" and scan the QR code of OneKey to transfer the coins to the OneKey wallet.
Based on my understanding, the chain of the coins in Ouyi exchange doesn't matter when withdrawing. You can choose any chain you want, and Ouyi will transfer the coins from its own chain. So it doesn't necessarily have to be the Tron network. I chose it because it is said to be faster for the funds to arrive.
Ouyi charged a fee of 1 USDT when withdrawing to the blockchain, which is quite high. Currently, Ouyi doesn't seem to have any advantages, so I plan to try another exchange next time to see if there is a better one. However, it seems that regardless of the amount, the withdrawal fee is always 1 USDT. You can buy together with trustworthy friends and then transfer the coins to them after depositing them into the OneKey wallet. This way, several people only need to pay once.
After this process, the OneKey wallet received 24 USDT and converted it to $23.5 for me. There is also a loss here. I don't know if using USDC would be better.
Throughout the process, you don't need your own wallet. The flow of funds is as follows:
-
My RMB ->
-
USDT in Ouyi exchange (the coins are actually in Ouyi's wallet, but nominally in my Ouyi account) ->
-
USDT in the OneKey wallet (the coins are actually in the OneKey wallet, but nominally in my OneKey account) ->
-
USD in my OneKey Card account
Card Opening and Binding#
Click on "Add Card" and there are three options. If you want to deposit for OpenAI, choose the US card with the segment 485997.
For detailed explanations of the options, you can refer to this article: OneKey Card Card Segments and Payment Scenarios – OneKey - Help Center. Some card segments are no longer available.
It is recommended to deposit around $10 because if you use the API for OpenAI, $5 will be frozen first. Don't let your OpenAI account be flagged due to insufficient funds.
After opening the card, go to Payment methods - OpenAI API to bind the card. The same applies if you want to deposit for Plus, but I haven't tried it yet because you can renew through the App Store.
You can also bind it to Alipay, but there is a 1.25% transaction fee for spending in RMB. WeChat no longer allows binding foreign-issued cards with phone numbers registered with 86.
Summary#
Overall, it is quite useful, but for people who are not familiar with the cryptocurrency industry (like me), the deposit process is relatively cumbersome.
You can visit my Hexo blog to read this article: OneKey Card Registration