A number of banks collectively announced the credit card fee reduction and exemption!
On November 13th, Bank of China announced that some credit card services would be reduced in a limited time!
China securities journal reporter learned that since October 30th, when the six major banks collectively announced to increase the efforts of fee reduction and profit-making, and improve the quality and efficiency of services, many banks have officially announced the details of fee reduction and profit-making for credit cards, including improving the credit card tolerance service mechanism, and establishing the annual fee replenishment mechanism for general credit cards and gold cards.
A number of banks announced credit card fee reduction and exemption.
On November 13th, Bank of China issued an announcement to reduce the fees and make profits for some credit card services, including transfer and transfer fees, service fees for credit card replacement/damaged card replacement/early card replacement, etc., with a total of 11 fees reduced or exempted.
Image source: China Bank official website
Bank of China said that this part of the fee waiver is a phased fee concession, and the time is from January 1 to December 31, 2024.
On the same day, Bank of China also issued the annual fee waiver policy for credit cards in 2024, which adjusted the annual fee collection standards of American Express Private Bank Credit Card, Visa Unlimited Private Bank Credit Card, Platinum Card Credit Card, Titanium/Gold/General Card Credit Card and other card types, and the annual fee can be waived after the consumption of the card types within the preferential scope reaches the standard.
Image source: China Bank official website
The reporter noted that in addition to the adjustment of credit card service fees by Bank of China, many banks, such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank, have issued detailed rules for the implementation of credit card service fee reduction and profit reduction. Among them, the adjustment of "time tolerance" service quota is most concerned by consumers.
On October 30th, Bank of China announced that it would comprehensively improve the quality and efficiency of credit card services, and increase the tolerance service limit to 100 yuan before the end of November. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank also announced on the same day that if the cardholder fails to repay in full in the current period, and the unpaid part is less than 100 yuan (or equivalent foreign currency), it will be deemed that the cardholder has repaid in full normally. The Agricultural Bank of China also announced that it will continue to provide credit card time and tolerance service mechanisms.
In addition, some joint-stock banks have also followed up the measures of reducing fees and making profits. Ping An Bank recently announced the adjustment of credit card repayment tolerance, saying that since December 21st this year, the bank’s credit card repayment tolerance has been adjusted from 30 yuan (including RMB 30 yuan or USD 6 yuan) to 100 yuan (including RMB 100 yuan or USD 20 yuan), and there is no need to apply for this service voluntarily.
CITIC Bank announced that it will raise the credit card tolerance service limit to 100 yuan before the end of the year.
It is understood that on October 12th this year, the China Banking Association issued the Proposal, which specifically mentioned the establishment of a time and tolerance service mechanism for credit cards. The "Proposal" pointed out that cardholders should be provided with "time-tolerant services", such as providing a three-day grace period for repayment. To provide "tolerance service" for cardholders, if the cardholder fails to repay in full in the current period, and the unpaid part is less than the limited amount, which is generally not less than 100 yuan (or equivalent foreign currency), it shall be regarded as the cardholder’s normal full repayment. After the proposal of the Bank of China Association was issued, various commercial banks expressed their views one after another, and they will actively respond to the proposal and gradually reduce various fees.
Credit card enters the era of "stock competition"
Industry insiders told reporters that on the basis of continuing to implement the existing policy of reducing fees and making profits, a number of banks have actively introduced measures to benefit enterprises and benefit the people, which is conducive to further reducing the operating costs of the real economy and the burden on financial consumers and improving the quality and efficiency of financial services.
Zhou Maohua, an analyst in the financial market department of China Everbright Bank, believes that China’s credit card business as a whole has gradually entered the era of stock competition. In the future, improving the experience and stickiness of credit card users is the main direction of credit card business of banks.
Judging from the amount of credit card issuance, the growth of China’s credit card market is slowing down and competition is intensifying. According to the General Situation of Payment System Operation in the Second Quarter of 2023 issued by the People’s Bank of China, by the end of the second quarter of 2023, the number of credit cards and debit-credit cards in use was 786 million, a decrease of 21 million compared with the same period of last year.
According to the analysis of many insiders, in recent years, the regulatory authorities have continuously regulated the credit card market, and the factors such as cleaning up the "sleep card" and strengthening the use of credit card funds have all affected the credit card increment.
Su Xiaorui, a senior consultant in the financial industry of Analysys, suggested that banking institutions should deepen technological empowerment, drive the layout of credit card business to intensive cultivation, and shift their business from auxiliary support to active empowerment; It is also necessary to deepen the closed-loop operation of credit card scene ecology and user rights, and strengthen the value competitiveness of credit card App. "On the one hand, the scene ecology can be extended to the breadth and deepened into the sinking market through the App platform. On the other hand, based on the scene ecology, financial services can be embedded and combined with external service platforms and merchants to enrich users’ rights and interests, enhance users’ experience in using the App and enhance the service value of the App." Su Xiaorui further said.