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The Postal Savings Bank of China is the second major bank after the Bank of China to announce plans to gradually phase out its credit card app services. The bank revealed on December 22nd that it will stop updating its dedicated credit card application and will instead transfer its features to its main banking app. This move follows a similar decision made by the Bank of China three months prior.
Earlier this year, several smaller banks such as China Bohai Bank, China Zheshang Bank, Evergrowing Bank, and Bank of Ningbo also shut down their individual credit card apps. Additionally, ten more small lenders, including Jiangxi Bank, have discontinued their credit card apps throughout the year.
A representative from a joint-stock bank commented that the slowdown in credit card issuance growth has caused the share of credit card business within banks’ overall credit structures to decrease. As a result, maintaining separate credit card apps has become less justifiable given the high operating expenses involved. Behind each app are complex systems for development, testing, security, updates, device compatibility, and ongoing marketing efforts. These factors have led to rising costs for app operation and maintenance.
With user engagement being relatively low, consolidating credit card functions into main banking apps has become a practical approach for financial institutions aiming to improve efficiency. An expert at Jiangsu Su Merchants Bank emphasized that having multiple apps can be inconvenient for customers. As mobile financial services grow more comprehensive, users prefer a single, unified app that provides all necessary features.
Regulatory bodies are also supporting this shift. A policy issued last September by the National Financial Regulatory Administration urged banks and insurance firms to consolidate or shut down apps that suffer from low user activity, poor user experience, redundant features, or security issues.
According to a senior analyst at Suxi Research, banks need to develop strong “one bank” digital strategies and continually refine their online service integration based on customer habits to remain competitive.
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