Relying on travel services, Hello is cross-border financial business, and compliance and consumer complaints are worth paying attention to
"China Science and Technology Investment", Zhang Ting, Long Qiuyue
Recently, a user reported to the reporter of "China Science and Technology Investment" that he applied for a loan through the "borrowing" entrance of the Hello APP under Shanghai Hello Puhui Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Haro"), and the fund was a consumer finance company. The user looked at the repayment bill details and found that in addition to the monthly repayment of principal and interest, he also had to pay a guarantee fee, so he questioned the rate.
In fact, in addition to providing travel services such as taxis, ride-hailing, cycling, and car rentals, the Hello app also includes financial services such as credit cards, money loans, and insurance. Among them, the "Borrow Money" entrance displays Haro's lending brand "Zhen Youqian". In 2019, Hello and Shanghai Qianhong Information Technology Co., Ltd. jointly launched the "Zhen Youqian" loan product. The reporter clicked on the "insurance" entrance of the Hello APP and found that the insurance companies currently sold by Hello include Taikang Online Property Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Taikang Online").
It is worth noting that it is not yet known whether Hello has a plan to win the Internet small loan and insurance brokerage licenses on the road of cross-border finance, and the reporter sent a letter to Hello on this issue, and the company replied that it is inconvenient to answer this question.
Licensing challenges
According to the Hello APP, the maximum amount of "Zhen Youqian" is 200,000 yuan, the comprehensive annualized interest rate starts from 10.8% (simple interest), and 1,000 yuan only costs 0.3 yuan for 1 day, and the partners include CITIC Baixin Bank Co., Ltd., Bank of China Consumer Finance Co., Ltd., Sichuan Vipshop Fubon Consumer Finance Co., Ltd. and other financial institutions.
According to the above-mentioned users, the funds borrowed by HelloAPP are financial institutions, and the repayment schedule shows that in addition to the repayment of principal and interest, a guarantee fee is also included every month. On the Black Cat complaint platform, many users questioned the guarantee fee. When the reporter sent a letter to ask about the scale of loans matched and initiated by Hello and the income from the loan business carried out since 2019, the company replied that it was "inconvenient to answer this question".
At the end of 2023, Hello won the financing guarantee license. According to the official website of Qichacha, the business scope of Tianjin Qianhong Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. is financing guarantee business, which is wholly owned by Hong Kong Ride Tech Limited, and the current legal representative is Chen Xiaodong, who has served as an executive in a number of Haro affiliated companies. According to the relevant provisions of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Small Loan Business (Draft for Comments) previously issued by the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the registered capital of a microfinance company operating online small loan business shall not be less than 1 billion yuan, and the registered capital of a small loan company operating online small loan business across provincial-level administrative regions shall not be less than 5 billion yuan, and all of them are one-time paid-in monetary capital. The registered capital of Shanghai Hello Puhui Technology Co., Ltd. is 4.4 billion yuan.
The reporter clicked into the "insurance" entrance of the Hello APP, and at present, the cooperative insurance companies of Hello include Taikang Online, Huanong Property Insurance Co., Ltd., Ping An Property Insurance Co., Ltd., etc. The "Insurance" portal of the Hello APP also displays information on various insurance products such as health insurance, accident insurance, and critical illness insurance. According to the promotional interface, HelloTravel Insurance and Taikang Online are free insurance, including traffic accident insurance with a maximum compensation of 50,000 yuan and additional driver's accidents with a maximum compensation of 50,000 yuan, and the free insurance period is one year. It is worth noting that in April 2023, the former Shenzhen Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau conducted a thorough investigation of the "Rubik's Cube business" in the industry and named the "Rubik's Cube business" in the industry. ("Rubik's Cube business" generally refers to insurance companies that acquire customers through free insurance or insurance with low premiums, low sum insured, and high deductibles, and then guide customers to "upgrade" protection or apply for other insurance.) ）
In May 2022, Shanghai Junfeng Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Junfeng Network"), a subsidiary of Haro, invested 50 million yuan to obtain the entire equity of Sichuan Yi'an Insurance Brokers Co., Ltd. from Zhang Ya and Chengdu Saimaher General Aviation Service Co., Ltd. It is worth noting that in November 2022, Junfeng Network hastily withdrew from the investment, resulting in the failure of the insurance brokerage license it had obtained.
In this regard, when the reporter sent a letter to ask about the cooperation model between Hello and Taikang Online and other insurance companies, Hello replied that Hello provides marketing information promotion services for the products of well-known insurance companies such as Taikang Online, and users can purchase related products through the link of the insurance company on the page.
Consumer complaints are a cause for concern
Recently, Mr. Zhang, a user, reported to reporters that in July 2023, he applied for a loan of 10,500 yuan through the "borrow money" entrance of the Hello APP, funded by Sichuan Jincheng Consumer Finance Co., Ltd., with an annualized interest rate of 9.5%. According to the repayment details provided by Mr. Zhang, in addition to the repayment of principal and interest, he also needs to pay a guarantee fee of 67.1 yuan per month. According to the IRR calculation, the comprehensive borrowing cost of the loan is an annualized interest rate of 23%, which is close to the regulatory red line of 24% annualized.
*Loan contract and repayment details, photo provided by the interviewee, Mr. Zhang
Mr. Chen, a user, also reported to reporters that in January this year, he applied for a loan of 6,500 yuan through the "borrowing" entrance of the Hello APP, and the fund was Harbin Harbin Consumer Finance Co., Ltd. According to the repayment details, in addition to the total repayment of principal and interest of 595.92 yuan, it also needs to pay a guarantee fee of 16.71 yuan per month. According to the IRR calculation, the comprehensive borrowing cost of the loan is an annualized interest rate of 23.36%, which is also close to the regulatory red line of 24% annualized. In addition, Mr. Chen also reported to reporters that when applying for a loan, the system prompted him to check the 29.9 yuan repayment card.
*Repayment statement, photo provided by the interviewee, Mr. Chan
"The Ultimate Card is a comprehensive value-added service based on the potential needs of users and provided by the platform partners. The purchase of relevant rights and interests is not related to whether or not to lend, and the credit and disbursement of all loans are subject to the final decision of the relevant financial institutions. If there is any doubt about the user's purchase of value-added services, we also have a special customer service staff to properly handle the user's corresponding demands", Hello replied to reporters.
In addition, Mr. Chen also reported to reporters that the 8th of each month is the repayment date, and on April 8 this year, due to the failure to repay the loan in time, his relatives and friends received collection calls when he could be contacted. In addition, Mr. Chen also received a text message labeled "People's Court Mediation Platform".
*SMS received by Mr. Chen
In this regard, Hello told reporters that the loan assistance services provided by Hello are finally provided by the regular licensed institutions, and after the user is overdue, the entrusted collection agency that cooperates with the licensed institution will contact the user in accordance with the law and compliance. Hello receives relevant complaints from users and will assist in handling them in a timely manner.
The reporter checked the Black Cat complaint platform, and the cumulative number of complaints about Haro reached 1,665, mainly involving problems such as illegal collection of guarantee fees, violent collection, telephone harassment, etc.
In this regard, how will Hello improve the level of compliance and improve the rights and interests of users? Hello replied to reporters that the number of complaints related to Hello is within the normal range of the industry. At the same time, we are equipped with dedicated customer service personnel to respond to and properly handle all kinds of questions from users in a timely manner. Since entering Black Cat, Hello has been a quick solution merchant for Black Cat. Regarding marketing promotions, if users do not want to be promoted, they can unsubscribe through the SMS "unsubscribe back to T" channel or call customer service to unsubscribe, or they can set it up in the Hello APP. For users who have expressly declined, Hello will no longer conduct relevant SMS or telemarketing. Hello attaches great importance to consumer protection, adheres to user-centric values, adheres to compliance operations in all work, and has professional customer service, consumer protection, and compliance personnel to carry out and practice various tasks.
At present, Hello also told reporters that it will actively verify the relevant situation with the complaining users and deal with it properly.