Economic Observer reporter Lao Yingying

Ms. Li from Shenzhen switched to the loan assistance industry two years ago, but unexpectedly encountered a cold winter in the industry as soon as she entered.

Ms. Li has been worried about changing her WeChat name to something better in recent days. Previously, her WeChat name had always included the words "professional bank loan". Now, such a WeChat name will be considered non compliant, and the company has urged her to change her name. So she changed her name three times in three days, changing it to "Business Consultation", "Business Processing", "Consulting Services" and other names, but they all felt it was not good and couldn't let clients know at a glance what she did.

In addition to her WeChat name, she and her colleagues used to post information related to loan policies and bank products on their social media, which also needed to be processed. In fact, due to the increasing difficulty of business development, Ms. Li has not yet landed any business this month. She really wants to post on her WeChat Moments to showcase her products, but she is also worried that if she posts it, her account will be banned. She had previously posted too much related information on her social media, and couldn't delete it anymore, so she simply set it to "visible in the last month's social media".

The reason why people in the loan assistance industry need to change their WeChat names and handle content on their social media accounts is because the "Management Measures for Online Marketing of Financial Products" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") jointly issued by the People's Bank of China and eight other departments will be implemented from September 30, 2026. This method comprehensively regulates the marketing content and caliber of relevant practitioners.

An industry insider interviewed by the Economic Observer told reporters that after September 30th, the assistance industry will undergo a major reshuffle, entering the era of refined management from the "traffic growth era". Customer acquisition channels need to be rebuilt, and compliance costs will also rise sharply. The previous model of relying on false advertising and exaggerated promises is no longer viable. The next industry competition will be about who is more compliant, who is more professional, and who truly understands customers.

Rectification

The Measures stipulate that financial institutions, other organizations or individuals outside the third-party Internet platform shall not carry out or in disguised form carry out online marketing of financial products. Because of this, Ms. Li and other colleagues need to delete and process the relevant financial information posted on their social media.

As for the name change of WeChat, it is emphasized in the Measures that any institution or individual shall not use words or contents involving financial attributes including "finance", "loan", "loan", "bank" and "asset management" in the name of Internet user account without obtaining the corresponding financial and financial information service qualification or without the consent of the financial management department.

Ms. Li told the Economic Observer reporter that in addition to the above content, the one that has a significant impact on the business personnel of the loan assistance industry is the provision in the "Measures" that "the production of online marketing content shall not use inducing language such as' low-risk ',' low threshold ',' instant payment ',' high return ',' low interest rate ',' no cost ', etc.". In addition to online marketing, Ms. Li's company also stipulates that after September 30th, telephone marketing is not allowed to use the above terms. If a salesperson is found to have used the corresponding terms in violation of regulations during telephone recording inspections, the company will impose corresponding penalties.

Ms. Liu from a loan assistance company in Jiangsu province also told reporters that she has not been making many phone calls to expand new customers recently. One reason is that there is often no one answering the phone, and the second reason is that the new compliance language still needs to be confirmed. She is currently contacting old clients to see if they have any urgent funding needs.

Ms. Liu said that in the past, when marketing new customers, in order to quickly gain their trust, commitment language was often used unintentionally. For example, the phrase 'very low interest' is often used, and in addition, they also use commitment language such as' your credit qualifications are very good, we have guaranteed it ',' 100% down payment ',' we are all instant products that can be credited on the same day 'regarding loan disbursement, approval, and disbursement speed.

Ms. Liu continued by stating that during the training, the company informed them that there is no "guaranteed" or "100% guaranteed" financial approval process, and that the decision-making power for loan approval lies with the bank, which cannot be controlled by the loan assistance company. Therefore, the use of the above language is explicitly prohibited after September 30th, and the language needs to be adjusted to "according to your qualifications, the pass rate may be relatively high, subject to the bank's specific requirements" and "under normal circumstances, the approval cycle is generally XX working days, subject to the actual loan disbursement time of the bank".

The above-mentioned interviewed industry insiders in the loan assistance industry stated that some peers, in order to attract customers, are willing to break through the bottom line and engage in false advertising and deception, such as falsely claiming to be employees of the bank's credit department, or claiming that they have internal channel relationships within the bank and can be given priority approval, and even stating that whether the customer is a credit blacklist or has problems with their personal credit report, there are corresponding solutions. These phrases that are suspected of false advertising and misleading customers are precisely the focus of regulatory attention.

The above-mentioned industry insiders in the loan assistance industry said that once the above-mentioned illegal language is used, their company is likely to receive customer complaints or even reports. Therefore, the companies they work for emphasize the importance of using the correct language in customer marketing: "We are a loan assistance service provider with long-term partnerships with multiple banks." "It depends on your credit and debt situation. We can help you conduct a preliminary review and then match a suitable plan based on your specific situation

Deeply cultivate existing stocks

An operator from a loan assistance platform with a business scale of about 20 billion yuan told Economic Observer reporters that the industry is basically struggling to survive, with all non core businesses, channel promotion fees, and new customer investment fees decreasing. After September 30, the third-party Internet platform could not be involved in line assessment and credit evaluation, nor could it participate in the credit sales process in disguised form, but could only jump to compliance, making it even more difficult to attract new customers.

According to the Measures, if a third-party Internet platform provides a transfer channel for financial consumers and investors to purchase financial products, it should jump to the proprietary platform of financial institutions, and should not jump to other third-party Internet platforms that carry out online marketing of financial products.

The above-mentioned loan assistance operator pointed out that due to the continuous decline in the value of simply acquiring new customers, their company has been reducing positions in the new customer channel internally. For frontline business personnel, the assessment indicator is being adjusted from "new loan amount" to "improving the refinancing rate of existing customers", and the business orientation is shifting from scale expansion to refined operation of existing customers, putting profit first.

The person also stated that tapping into the credit needs of existing customers and enhancing their refined operational capabilities has become a core source of competitiveness. They will place more emphasis on using models that enhance the retention rate of high-value customers to carry out customer segmentation operations, and improve the level of refinancing through data analysis methods.

Ms. Liu also believes that she urgently needs to improve her ability to deeply cultivate existing customers. In the past, most of the clients she dealt with were those with urgent financial needs. Once a business was completed, she rarely contacted the clients again because she always felt it would disturb them. In the first half of 2026, due to lower than expected performance, the company requires her to quickly increase customer stickiness and convert existing customers.

So Ms. Liu sought advice from some experienced salespeople on how to more professionally and sensitively capture customer needs. Industry veterans believe that the key is to stand from the perspective of "altruism" and not simply treat the other party as a customer, but to understand the customer's living situation as a friend before starting communication; In addition, when communicating, listen more to customers' expressions, learn empathy, and most customers are willing to confide. During the process, give more affirmation and praise.

Recently, Ms. Liu has developed a habit of browsing customer friend circles, using WeChat likes, comments, and other methods to increase interaction with customers, paying attention to their interests, health status, children's education, and other situations. While searching for chat topics, she also explores business opportunities. For customers with potential needs, Ms. Liu will also communicate appropriately in the evening, chat about daily life, and some customers will actively consult with her about financial products in the market. For customers who actively inquire about financial products, Ms. Liu will prioritize telephone communication. If the telephone communication goes smoothly, she will try to invite them to meet in person.

Ms. Liu believes that face-to-face communication can bring each other closer and help build trust.

Transformation

In the past year or two, the regulatory environment faced by the loan assistance industry has become increasingly strict: the Notice of the State Financial Supervision and Administration on Strengthening the Management of Internet Loan Assistance Business of Commercial Banks and Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Financial Services (new loan assistance rules), which was launched on October 1, 2025, clearly states that commercial banks should ensure that the comprehensive financing costs paid by borrowers for a single loan comply with the relevant provisions of the Several Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Further Strengthening Financial Justice (not higher than the annual interest rate of 24%); The Regulations on the Disclosure of Comprehensive Financing Costs for Personal Loan Business have also been officially implemented from August 1, 2026, requiring all lending institutions to display a "Comprehensive Financing Cost Disclosure Table" to borrowers before lending, listing all interest and expenses item by item.

Against the backdrop of stricter regulation, the performance of top lending assistance platforms has significantly declined. According to the 2026 Q2 performance report, Qifu Technology (03660.HK/NASDAQ: QFIN) had a net profit of 400 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 76.8%; Xinye Technology (NYSE: FINV) had a net profit of 430 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 43.2%; Lexin (NASDAQ: LX) had a net profit of 100 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 80.2%; Xiaoying Technology (NYSE: XYF) had a net profit of 46.98 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 91.1%; Jiayin Technology (NASDAQ: JFIN) went from profit to loss.

Performance reports and public information show that after the impact on lending assistance business, the development of non lending assistance business and going global have become the direction of transformation for top lending assistance platforms. For example, Lexin is increasing its diversified ecological layout. The total transaction volume of its installment e-commerce platform in the second quarter was 2.342 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%. Its installment retail, ToB (enterprise end) digital technology and other non loan assistance business transactions have accounted for more than 50% of the total transaction volume; Qifu Technology is focusing on international business, and the company is promoting qualification applications and team building in some overseas markets, and has recently made personnel adjustments.

The operators of the above-mentioned loan assistance platforms stated that the top loan assistance platforms have been expanding their overseas business for some time and currently face fierce competition. According to his understanding, some small and medium-sized loan assistance platforms have transformed into the non-performing asset track, as banks have continued to dispose of and transfer various types of non-performing assets in recent years, and this track still has significant market opportunities. For example, for some overdue bank debts, some financially strong platforms will purchase debt packages at low prices, and then dispose of non-performing assets through various methods such as negotiation, arbitration, mediation, litigation, and recovery to earn the difference in payment; Other platforms with insufficient financial strength may choose to become entrusted disposal service providers to earn service fees.

The loan assistance operator also stated that due to the highly standardized process of disposing of non-performing assets, there is no need for a large amount of personnel investment to promote project implementation. For example, disposing of a non-performing asset package worth approximately 10 million yuan for a financial institution and achieving a repayment rate of 30% to 40% does not require a significant amount of manpower, and can be implemented with 3 to 5 staff members.