Regulatory Ambiguity Cannot Be a "Get Out of Jail Free Card" for Installment Malls | Yellow River Commentary

The implementation of new regulations for loan assistance in October 2025 was originally aimed at cutting off the gray areas of high-interest loan aid and establishing a strict rule of an annualized comprehensive financing cost of 24%. Regulatory authorities explicitly require that interest, credit enhancement service fees, guarantee fees, and all other costs be included in the comprehensive financing cost calculation, prohibiting split charges that covertly raise interest rates. As a result, traditional loan assistance institutions’ profit margins have been significantly squeezed.

Under the heavy-handed regulation, some installment shopping platforms have started to “transform,” packaging loans as consumption. They use high product markups and third-party cash-out schemes, superficially adhering to regulatory red lines while secretly charging high interest rates, heavily targeting credit-weak populations in lower-tier markets.

How long can the collusion between platforms and cash-out merchants last? “Cash out without receiving goods”—the absurdity of this logic exposes its core: there has never been genuine consumption demand here, only borrowing impulses. These seemingly compliant platforms are actually high-interest lenders, creating cash-out chains that openly challenge financial regulation and trap countless consumers in debt.

How long can the “gray-area tricks” of installment shopping platforms continue? They publicly claim “annual interest rates not exceeding 24%” as a compliance slogan, yet secretly sell iPhones at “sky-high prices.” This “nominal compliance but actual violation” approach not only exploits regulatory loopholes but also blatantly tramples on rules. The ambiguity over whether product markups should be included in the comprehensive financing cost has become a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for these platforms, allowing them to profit wildly in the gray zone.

From loan assistance agencies to installment shopping platforms, these platforms are merely wearing different “masks”; their high-interest lending nature has never changed. When new regulations prohibit disguising interest through service fees and guarantee fees, these platforms simply hide the interest and fees within product markups, playing a game of “building the road openly while secretly crossing the river.”

In response to the chaos of high-interest rates in installment shopping, regulatory authorities are also advancing industry governance. According to Caizhongshe, by early 2026, local financial regulatory bureaus will conduct window guidance, emphasizing that any business with an annualized interest rate exceeding 36% will be classified as “usury,” and serious cases will be prosecuted criminally. Additionally, Southern Metropolis Daily reports that recent investigations and discussions with multiple installment shopping platforms have covered data security, product pricing, member rights, and other aspects.

The reason these installment shopping platforms dare to act so recklessly is their precise targeting of the capital needs of lower-tier markets. By offering “qualification leniency” as bait, they treat credit-poor and hard-to-loan populations from formal channels as prey. “Almost everyone has a limit”—this internal industry rule reveals their profit-driven nature.

Platforms knowingly understand that lower-tier users have weak risk resistance but turn a blind eye to their qualification reviews. They use high-cycle consumption limits to trap those in urgent need of cash, then harvest profits through high markups and hidden fees. You might think you’re getting “life-saving” cash, but in reality, it’s a high-interest loan that only worsens your situation. You may believe you’re engaging in normal installment shopping, but you’re actually caught in a cash-out trap colluded by the platform and cash-out merchants. This targeted exploitation of vulnerable groups shows no business bottom line and severely damages financial fairness.

Even more egregious, these installment shopping platforms layer their tricks, pushing the boundaries of “harvesting” to the extreme and trampling on consumers’ rights. To obtain personal information, they require real-name authentication before browsing products; to make users sign loan contracts unknowingly, the signing prompts flash by; to maximize profits, they hide the membership cancellation options and bundle high-priced service packages worth thousands of yuan.

Precise data leaks have broken through the last line of defense for potential victims. When users register on the platform, SMS messages from cash-out merchants arrive immediately. Once the credit limit is cleared, the temptation to increase it follows. This tacit cooperation between platform traffic diversion and cash-out realization makes it hard to believe they are “illegally impersonating third parties.” When various shopping platforms claim “never cooperating with cash-out merchants,” they should clarify: why does users’ personal information flow so precisely into the hands of cash-out merchants? Is this a technical loophole or a transfer of interests?

The chaos of installment shopping stems from the ambiguity of identity, creating a vacuum of responsibility. They appear as “technology providers” or “operators,” claiming to be e-commerce platforms, not small loan companies, and are not directly regulated by local financial authorities, thus avoiding full responsibility for consumer rights protection. This “mimicking” state allows them to operate in regulatory gaps, shifting risks onto users while keeping profits for themselves.

The problems with installment shopping are not merely commercial disputes but serious issues concerning financial market stability and consumer rights. Their actions openly flout financial regulation and recklessly destroy market rules. The cash-out chains of installment shopping are blatant oversteps of regulatory red lines and a “cancer” in the financial market.

For ordinary users, vigilance is essential against targeted exploitation under the guise of installment shopping. When someone enthusiastically tells you “shopping can also turn into cash,” they are not helping you—they are selling you a chain. Truly compliant financial platforms will not trap you in high-interest repayment hell or turn you into a “credit refugee.” Only high-interest lenders do that.

Commentator: Liu Jinyang Editing: Lu Ting Proofreading: Tang Qi