A Guangdong citizen, Mr. Qin, reported that despite making regular repayments on his China Everbright Bank quasi-credit card, his credit report showed "overdue" status, leading other financial institutions to interpret it as a credit issue and deny his loan applications. After multiple disputes, the repayment records for this card were finally removed from the credit system.
However, one month later, Mr. Qin discovered through the UnionPay App that this card displayed an astonishing debt of 1000 trillion yuan. This debt only appeared in the UnionPay credit card repayment section but was not found in China Everbright Bank's transaction records.
Mr. Qin stated that after his repeated complaints to China Everbright Bank, the record of this 1000 trillion yuan debt was eventually canceled. "This series of incidents damaged my personal credit, caused disruptions in my capital chain, and resulted in significant business losses. To this day, I still don't know why this massive 1000 trillion yuan debt appeared," Mr. Qin explained, noting that he has been communicating with China Everbright Bank for over two years without reaching a resolution.
Investigation reveals that similar to Mr. Qin's experience, some other China Everbright Bank quasi-credit card users have also faced loan rejections from other banks due to credit report issues despite normal usage of their overdraft limits.
In response, China Everbright Bank stated on January 7 that the bank does not report "Le Hui Jin" card customers' overdue credit information to the People's Bank of China. The "1" and "2" shown in credit reports represent normal reporting of overdraft status to the PBOC credit system and do not affect personal credit. Customers with questions about these codes can contact the bank for verification.
Regarding the "1000 trillion yuan debt" incident, China Everbright Bank's customer service suggested that display errors on third-party platforms cannot be ruled out.
Mr. Qin, who operates a garment factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong, applied for a "Le Hui Jin" quasi-credit card at China Everbright Bank's Zhongshan branch in 2015 with a 100,000 yuan overdraft limit. He had never missed repayments and always paid the annual 1,088 yuan fee on time. In 2022, when applying for loans at other financial institutions, he was repeatedly rejected due to credit issues.
His credit report showed code "1" for August 2021 repayment record and codes "2" for September 2021 through July 2022. "Bank loan officers told me that 1 means 1-30 days overdue and 2 means 31-60 days overdue, which caused my loan rejections," Mr. Qin explained.
Despite multiple applications to China Everbright Bank branches to dispute his credit record, he was refused, with the bank maintaining that "1" and "2" indicated overdraft status rather than overdue status. However, his credit continued to be affected until October 2022, when the card's repayment records were finally removed from the credit system.
The People's Bank of China Zhongshan Central Sub-branch issued a guidance document clarifying that quasi-credit card repayment records: "1 indicates overdraft for 1-30 days; 2 indicates overdraft for 31-60 days. Bank staff must correctly understand and distinguish that quasi-credit card overdraft records differ from credit card overdue records in personal credit reports."
During his维权 efforts, Mr. Qin discovered many others facing similar situations. Investigation shows numerous similar complaints on platforms like Black Cat Complaint and Douyin, where users reported being unable to obtain mortgage loans due to "1" and "2" codes on quasi-credit card credit reports.
China Everbright Bank customer service confirmed that "Le Hui Jin" quasi-credit cards were discontinued in 2023 but remain usable for valid cards. The card underwent changes in 2023, previously featuring a 60-day repayment period with daily interest and no grace period. After changes, monthly statements generate on the 21st with 19 additional days for repayment. The bank emphasized that it doesn't report overdue credit information to PBOC before or after the changes.
Just when things seemed normalized, Mr. Qin encountered new problems in November 2022. While checking statements through UnionPay's credit card repayment section, he discovered his China Everbright Bank quasi-credit card showed a debt of 1,000,000,000,000,000.00 yuan (1000 trillion yuan). This abnormal record persisted until December 2023 before being canceled.
"Why did this display appear? I never learned the reason. These years of struggle severely impacted our garment factory - bank loan rejections directly caused enterprise capital chain rupture, resulting in substantial losses," Mr. Qin said, noting repeated negotiations with the bank offering approximately 30,000 yuan compensation for interest during the August 2021-July 2022 period, which he declined.
UnionPay customer service stated that credit card repayment records are provided by bank credit card centers, suggesting cardholders contact relevant banks. China Everbright Bank maintained that third-party platform display errors were possible but required cardholder personal consultation due to privacy concerns.
Quasi-credit cards represent a unique Chinese credit card type requiring deposit reserves (some new cards exempt) and allowing overdrafts within credit limits but typically without grace periods, with interest accruing from the transaction date. As China's credit card market developed, quasi-credit cards gradually phased out as transitional products.
In 2022, reports indicated that some China Everbright Bank "Le Hui Jin" quasi-credit card holders found their credit reports controversial despite normal overdraft usage, leading to unwarranted blacklisting by other banks. Many cardholders being small merchants faced capital flow rupture risks after rejections.
Industry experts explain that quasi-credit cards differ fundamentally from credit cards - having no grace periods, with 60-day overdrafts constituting normal usage. The "1" and "2" codes represent overdraft duration markers rather than overdue records. However, some banks' loan review systems fail to distinguish these differences, treating quasi-credit card normal overdraft markers as equivalent to credit card overdue markers.
The PBOC Credit Reference Center Anhui Branch previously issued risk guidance emphasizing that financial institutions must distinguish between credit cards and quasi-credit cards' "1" and "2" status meanings during loan reviews, recommending system upgrades if automated review models cannot accurately identify these differences.
Mr. Qin believes China Everbright Bank failed to adequately inform customers about the "Le Hui Jin" quasi-credit card's special credit rules beforehand and should responsibility for subsequent losses. "Had I known this would happen, I definitely wouldn't have chosen to apply for this card initially," he concluded.
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