Another ＂free lunch＂ ends. From March 26th, Alipay credit card repayment charges will be charged.
Affected by the rising pressure of comprehensive operating costs, more and more third-party payment channels begin to charge fees for credit card repayment. But at the same time, we should also see that there are many repayment channels for credit cards at present, and the channels such as bank online banking and mobile banking APP are still free — —
For users who use third-party payment channels to repay bank credit cards, a new change is about to happen: from March 26th, Alipay will charge a service fee for credit card repayment, and WeChat has charged for credit card repayment since August 1st last year, which means another "free lunch" for Internet services has ended.
Next, how will you choose the credit card repayment channel? What else do you need to pay attention to when using third-party payment to repay credit cards? Has Internet service entered the era of charging?
Alipay VS wechat
At present, users and the market are most concerned about the similarities and differences between Alipay and WeChat for credit card repayment charges.
In fact, repaying bank credit cards through third-party payment institutions is a new thing that has only appeared in recent years. In contrast, bank online banking and mobile banking APP are still the traditional mainstream channels for credit card repayment, and this channel does not charge extra for the single act of "repayment".
According to industry insiders, the so-called "credit card repayment service" paid by a third party means that the third party payment company deducts the corresponding money from the cardholder’s change account, debit card and other channels for credit card repayment according to his transaction instructions.
It is understood that "integrated management" is the main reason why some users choose to repay their credit cards through third-party payment channels.
"At present, I use the credit cards of ICBC, China Merchants Bank and Minsheng Bank at the same time. When I used mobile banking to repay, I would log in to the apps of these three banks respectively, and I also need to remember different repayment dates." Cui Jinqing, a young white-collar worker who works in a large central enterprise in Beijing, said that later, Alipay’s "credit card repayment" function was used to integrate the management of three credit cards. On one interface, the details such as which credit cards you bound, their repayment dates and their repayment amounts were clear at a glance.
Under the influence of integrated management, path dependence and other factors, the "credit card repayment" function of Alipay and WeChat gradually accumulated some users, but the increase in business volume also led to an increase in comprehensive operating costs, because there would be a payment channel fee behind each repayment.
When third-party payment institutions no longer invest in cost subsidy fees, "charging" will become the general trend. So for users, what are the similarities and differences between Alipay and WeChat after charging?
After comparison, the reporter found that from the charging standard, Alipay and WeChat are both one thousandth (0.1%) of the repayment amount, but Alipay has reserved two "free paths" for users.
Specifically, the first is to provide a free quota of 2000 yuan per person per month. Suppose the monthly repayment amount of users is 3,000 yuan, and the handling fee of Alipay is one thousandth of that of 1000 yuan, namely 1 yuan, but that of WeChat is one thousandth of 3,000 yuan, namely 3 yuan.
The second is to allow users to increase their free quota through two methods: "redemption of Alipay membership points" and "borrowing the free quota of relatives and friends".
"It is worth noting that if all your money is in Yu ‘ebao, you can withdraw it to your debit card first, which is free. Then log in to the bank’s online banking and pay back the credit card with the money from the debit card. There is no cost in the whole process. " The relevant person in charge of Alipay said.
Five aspects should be noted.
In addition to charging, compared with online banking, there are many matters needing attention in the "credit card repayment" service paid by third parties, which are mainly manifested in five aspects: determination of responsibility and right, repayment currency, single limit, repayment reminder and repayment appointment function.
The first is the issue of "determination of responsibility and right". It should be noted that the third-party payment institution is only the executor of the user’s credit card repayment instruction, and it will not be responsible for the losses caused by the user’s use of this service unless it does not follow the user’s instruction or the operation instruction is wrong.
The second is the issue of "repayment currency" and "bill inquiry currency". At present, the credit card repayment services of Alipay and WeChat only support RMB repayment, not foreign currency repayment. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the bill information that users can query through the above two methods is only RMB bills, and the foreign currency bills queried are for reference only, and accurate information still needs to be obtained through the issuing bank.
The third is the issue of "single limit". Wechat clearly stated in the agreement that when users make credit card repayments through Tenpay’s platform, they should still abide by the restrictions imposed by the repayment source bank on the maximum amount of their single transfer and the maximum amount of daily cumulative transfer; Tenpay is not responsible for the failure of repayment caused by this restriction.
The fourth is the issue of "repayment reminder". It is worth noting that even if users set up a credit card "repayment reminder" on the third-party payment platform, they still need to make repayment according to their agreement with the credit card issuer. The above settings are only used as a reference for repayment time and amount, not as a basis for whether or not to repay.
The fifth is the issue of "prepayment function". Wechat clearly stated in the agreement that "if you use the scheduled repayment function, Tenpay will provide you with repayment service according to the billing information provided by the issuing bank of your credit card, and Tenpay does not guarantee the authenticity, completeness and timeliness of this information". That is to say, if the user suffers losses due to the incorrect billing information, including but not limited to economic losses, late payment fees, reduced credit evaluation, etc., it will be settled by the user and the issuing bank.
Bank online banking channel is still free.
In the face of the above changes, many insiders said that the overall impact on users is limited. On the one hand, compared with services such as consumption and wealth management, credit card repayment is a function with lower frequency; On the other hand, at present, there are many repayment channels for credit cards. Although Alipay and WeChat charge, these channels such as bank online banking and mobile banking APP are still free.
In addition, Alipay also suggested in the announcement of "Adjustment of Credit Card Repayment Service Rules" that if it is a large repayment, users can choose to repay free of charge through channels such as bank online banking.
In fact, for commercial banks, retail business has always played the role of profit stabilizer, and credit card business is an important part of retail business.
Usually, when applying for a bank’s credit card, users need to have the bank’s debit card and use it as a repayment account. In this way, banks can not only improve customer stickiness through credit card business, but also form stable capital precipitation and repayment cash flow.
For this reason, for a long time, the online banking and mobile banking apps of various banks have not charged extra fees for the single act of "repayment" for the credit cards issued by the bank, but if users have overdue and installment repayment, they will charge other kinds of fees.
In recent years, many banks have even supported users to repay their credit cards through "debit cards from other banks" without charging any handling fees for the time being, in order to increase repayment channels for users and increase the frequency of their use of our credit cards.
It is worth noting that with WeChat and Alipay charging for "credit card repayment" one after another, the discussion about "whether Internet service has entered the charging era" has once again started in the society.
It is undeniable that in the past few years, more and more services on the Internet have begun to charge. According to a survey by the National Copyright Administration of China, in 2017, fee-based content accounted for almost half of the Internet content market in China.
At the same time, in the face of charging, users have gradually changed from "unaccustomed" in the early days to "accustomed". The financial report of iQiyi in the third quarter of 2018 shows that as of September 30, 2018, the number of subscribed members of iQiyi has reached 80.7 million, of which paying members account for more than 98%; The income from membership service was 2.9 billion yuan, up 78% year-on-year, which exceeded the income from online advertising service of 2.4 billion yuan.
"There is no eternal free model in any industry. In a fully competitive market, charging or not ultimately depends on whether the services provided by enterprises are worth paying for, and the charging price will gradually become reasonable in the competition. " The relevant person in charge of Alipay said.