"Get a credit card from 6 banks and get an electric car! Get a 3 bank credit card and get a bike! In a shopping mall in Fengtai District, Beijing, the business staff introduced credit card marketing activities to reporters. In fact, it's a microcosm of the current state of credit card marketing for banks. 
The emergence of products such as Huabei Borrowing, Jingdong Baitiao, and Meituan Borrowing has made the market competition more and more intense. Compared with banks, e-commerce platforms have a natural advantage in customer acquisition. The reporter noticed that some banks are adopting the "alliance" model, in popular business districts or office buildings and other places, with the best value of gifts as a gimmick to attract customers to apply for multiple credit cards. On the one hand, the bank's marketing enthusiasm for fancy customer solicitation; On the other hand, the cumulative number of cards issued has declined for four consecutive quarters. A few days ago, the topic of "why young people don't like to use credit cards" appeared on Weibo hot search, causing heated discussions. According to the reporter's research, fuzzy annual fee publicity, inducing automatic installment, and "shrinking" of points rights and interests are the problems widely criticized by consumers for bank credit cards. In addition, the change of consumption concept is also the reason why some consumers cancel their cards. In the era of stock competition, how should bank credit cards stand out from the encirclement? Banks "huddle" to market credit cardsAccording to the business staff, if the customer successfully applies for a credit card from 6 of the 10 banks in Shanghai, including IB, CITIC, GF, Everbright, Huaxia, Minsheng, Ping An, Transportation, Postal Savings and Shanghai, he will be able to receive an electric car for free. If you successfully apply for a credit card from 2 or 3 banks, you can get a free bicycle. If you apply for a credit card from one bank, you can also receive gifts such as campervans, air fryers, and suitcases. 
Customers in shopping malls are consulting and handling credit card business Photo by reporter Zhang Jialin.
In fact, it's not uncommon for banks to "form groups" to market credit cards. "For every 1 bank credit card that the owner of the community will give 100 yuan in property fees, and each person can apply for up to 6 bank credit cards, which can be cancelled after half a year. A few days ago, a marketing poster of a bank was posted in a residential building in Liaoning. The reporter consulted the business staff Manager Du and learned that the event covered Huaxia Bank, Everbright Bank, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Shengjing Bank and Guangfa Bank. The owner must be a new bank account and can only apply for 1 credit card in each bank. "We will take out part of the commission to subsidize activities, and the rest will be paid by the bank. There is an internal reward mechanism, and the more cards opened, the more bonuses we get. When talking about why banks want to "group marketing", a banker told reporters, "The customer acquisition cost of traditional marketing is rising. Several banks work together to do marketing, and the more people there are, the wider the area they can cover. Moreover, the cost of gifts and other expenses can be borne by everyone, and the pressure on a single bank is not so great. ”Consumers are becoming more and more "unproductive".At the same time, banks are attracting customers, but consumers are becoming more and more indifferent. From the data point of view, the "Overall Operation of the Payment System in the Third Quarter of 2023" shows that at the end of the third quarter of 2023, the total number of bank cards of credit cards and debit cards was 77.9 billion, down 1. month-on-month00%。Since the fourth quarter of 2022, the cumulative issuance of credit and debit cards has declined for four consecutive quarters. Recently, the topic of "why young people don't like to use credit cards" has been on Weibo's hot search, causing heated discussions among netizens. According to the reporter's research, fuzzy annual fee publicity, inducing automatic installment, and "shrinking" of points rights and interests are the most criticized problems by consumers. In addition, the change of consumption concept is also the reason why some consumers cancel their cards. "Because of the dwindling benefits, some credit cards in my hand are rarely used. Some time ago, I found that some cards were advertised as free of annual fees at that time, but they had to be swiped enough times or amounts every year to do so. Due to the binding of automatic repayment, I have lost thousands of dollars in recent years. Xiao Wu, a resident of Zhejiang, told reporters. Xiao Zhang, a resident of Beijing, told reporters, "At that time, in order to help my friends rush their performance, I applied for a lot of credit cards, and some of them were not activated. In recent years, the credit information system has become more and more detailed, and it is disturbing to look at so many cards. Sometimes they overdraft to buy things they don't need. Some time ago, I went to the bank to apply for a loan, but it was not approved, probably because the debt was too high. I have already sold off 8 cards, forced myself to reduce my debts and started saving money. ”It is necessary to focus on improving the user experienceAccording to Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of Zhaolian, the decline in credit card issuance is mainly due to the impact of the new credit card regulations in 2022. The new regulations have had a significant and far-reaching impact on the development of the credit card business, promoting the credit card business from the extensive development stage of "horse racing" to the stage of professional and refined high-quality development. In addition to fierce competition among peers, banks are also facing competitive pressure from e-commerce platforms such as Huabei, JD.com, Meituan, and Douyin. Compared with banks, the above-mentioned platforms have a natural advantage in customer acquisition. Industry insiders believe that in the era of stock competition, banks need to adhere to differentiated development, explore differentiated positioning of customer groups, and launch distinctive credit card products and services for different customer groups. In fact, the launch of various co-branded credit cards and themed credit cards is the relevant exploration of banks. However, some consumers have reported that the "gameplay" of some bank co-branded cards is complicated and difficult to find. Zhou Maohua, a macro researcher at the financial market department of Everbright Bank, believes that improving user experience and enhancing user stickiness will be the core competitiveness of the credit card business in the future. Banks need to strike a balance between credit card marketing effects, profit benefits, and user satisfaction, and can start by expanding use cases, creating differentiated functions, innovating products and services, and strengthening risk control capabilities. Reviewer: Ye Siqi Editor: Wang Yin Producer: Zhang Nan Signed: Fei Yangsheng