Gold accumulation account holders looking to buy on the dip are discovering that promotional zero-fee offers come with hidden costs, as banks simultaneously raise risk-rating requirements and maintain redemption-side charges.
After nearly four months of waiting, a post-90s investor surnamed Wen finally saw the per-gram price of accumulated gold fall back to the "8-handle" range. "My last accumulated gold transaction was at the start of the year. Today I opened the bank app's precious metals section, and instead of a direct buy interface, I got a prompt: your risk assessment has expired, please complete a new evaluation before proceeding," Wen told reporters.
International gold prices accelerated their descent in late October, with spot London gold recently "defending" the $4,000 per ounce level, touching $3,975 per ounce at one point — a pullback of roughly 29% from the year's high of $5,598 per ounce.
During this gold price correction, multiple institutions including Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China CITIC Bank simultaneously pushed accumulated gold purchase-side fees toward "zero range," attempting to capture this wave of "dip-buying" demand.
Shifting Risk Levels, Rising Entry Thresholds
Wen had seen accumulated gold prices briefly dip below 870 yuan per gram in early July. "There was a short buying window, but I hesitated, thinking it might go even lower, and I missed it," she recalled.
In late October, gold prices returned to the "8-handle," and combined with bank purchase-side fee discounts, she decided not to wait any longer. When she opened the app to buy, her risk assessment had expired; after re-taking it, the evaluation result just barely crossed her account-opening bank's entry threshold, and she finally completed the purchase.
"I'll just fill my position first and figure out the rest later."
Since 2026, as gold prices surged and then corrected, the entry coordinates for accumulated gold have undergone multiple rounds of adjustment. Several banks have successively raised the risk rating requirements for accumulated gold business. As of now, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Industrial Bank, and China CITIC Bank apply a C3 balanced-type standard for new sign-ups and active accumulation, while China Construction Bank's personal gold accumulation maintains an R4 medium-high risk level.
Some banks have lowered requirements. Starting January 12, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China raised the entry requirement for accumulated gold account opening, active accumulation, and new fixed-amount investments from C2 steady-type to C3 balanced-type and above. But by May 19, ICBC lowered the risk rating for its Ruyi Gold accumulation from R3 to R2, with the corresponding customer risk tolerance level adjusted to C2-steady-type and above.
Wen's experience is not an isolated case. As gold prices retreated from a high of over 1,200 yuan per gram at the start of the year to below 900 yuan, the "8-handle" accumulated gold price is reigniting the allocation willingness of some investors who had previously exited.
Ms. Zhang encountered a snag with her risk re-assessment. She answered according to her previous responses but was judged by the system as having a non-compliant risk level. "It was like redoing the multiple-choice questions from before, and I had to adjust my answers to pass," Zhang said. After adjusting her answers and retaking the assessment, she met the current entry threshold.
Last Thursday, as gold prices continued to fall, Zhang told reporters she placed a limit order for 10 grams at 865 yuan per gram before bed after watching the market — below the year's low touched in July. "I didn't think this price would execute so easily. I placed the order and went to sleep." Surprisingly, at 9 a.m. the next morning, she received a text message that her limit order had been successfully filled. But the gold price decline did not stop, and on October 26, gold continued to fall, touching a low of 856 yuan per gram, setting a new low for the year. Zhang's position is currently showing an unrealized loss. "The order got filled, and the paper loss followed right behind," she said with a wry smile.
Zero Fees Do Not Equal Zero Cost
After clearing the risk assessment hurdle, there are still hidden costs behind accumulated gold purchase promotions. Since October, banks have been密集 offering concessions on the purchase side of accumulated gold. According to an incomplete tally by reporters, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China reduced the personal active accumulation purchase fee from 0.5% to 0 from August 28 to November 28, with the zero fee rate for fixed-amount investments extended to December 31; China CITIC Bank compressed real-time purchase and fixed-amount investment fees from 0.6% to 0.3% from October 1 to November 30, while maintaining free redemptions. Bank of China designated Friday as a themed discount day, offering customers who make a single accumulated gold purchase on Friday, or whose accumulated gold fixed-amount investment deduction date falls on a Friday, a discount of 1 yuan per gram off the base quote until December 31. The bank also introduced large-amount purchase discounts and tiered customer-level purchase discounts, where single purchases totaling over 10,000 yuan receive greater per-gram discounts as the amount increases.
Reporters found that the concessions are almost entirely concentrated on the purchase side, with redemption-side fees and spreads showing no significant loosening. For example, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's purchase fee dropped to zero, the redemption-side fee of 0.5% remained unchanged, creating an asymmetric structure of "free to buy, charged to sell." Ping An Bank's redemption fee is tiered by holding period: 1.00% for less than 90 days, dropping to 0.60% for 90 days or more, and is explicitly labeled as a promotional activity. Some banks have not adjusted at all — China Construction Bank's accumulated gold spread is currently 6 yuan per gram, with customer service stating it is fixed but reserving the possibility of dynamic adjustment during periods of significant gold price volatility.
Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Suzhou Commercial Bank, analyzed for reporters that accumulated gold mainly has two fee models: handling fees and spreads. Some banks use explicit handling fees, while others treat the spread as an implicit core revenue source. Combined with differences in promotional intensity and customer tiering across banks, this leads to cost variations. Xue further warned that the most easily overlooked factor is the two-way spread: "Zero fees often only waive the purchase-side handling fee, while the spread is where banks earn their core revenue. Calculated at higher per-gram gold prices, the round-trip spread loss could be between 0.3% and 1.8%, and some banks will widen the spread during periods of severe gold price fluctuations."
Gold Prices Tug-of-War at $4,000 per Ounce
Beyond risk ratings and fees, investors ultimately must face where gold prices go next. On October 23, spot London gold fell below $4,000 per ounce during intraday trading, touching a low of $3,975 per ounce, with a weekly cumulative decline exceeding 4%. As of October 26, international gold prices stood at $4,011 per ounce, with bulls and bears repeatedly battling as gold prices seesawed around the $4,000 per ounce level.
"But the pullback itself does not automatically constitute a margin of safety," a bank precious metals business representative analyzed for reporters. For investors returning to accumulated gold, the fact that gold prices have "fallen back to the 8-handle" does not in itself justify a one-time heavy position; the structure of banks concentrating concessions on the purchase side while continuing to charge on the redemption side is precisely designed to encourage long-term holding rather than short-term trading.
As for international gold prices, institutions are also broadly warning of high volatility risks. Xia Yingying, head of the precious metals and new energy research group at Nanhua Futures, believes that rising uncertainty in the Middle East situation is pushing oil prices further up, and high inflation pressure is increasing expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes, weighing on precious metals. The market is simultaneously concerned about Middle East tensions, interest rate hike risks from elevated oil prices, and profit pressures corresponding to high capital expenditure by AI companies, while liquidity panic continues to drag down precious metals prices.
A market strategist at HSBC Asset Management stated that recent market movements show gold has failed to serve as an effective hedge against stock market corrections. As leveraged funds flooded into gold, stock market crashes triggered margin calls, forcing investors to liquidate positions to raise cash. Market sentiment is unlikely to stabilize until the liquidity shock subsides.
Chen Mengyun, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Futures, stated that in the short term, the environment of high interest rates and a strong dollar is difficult to reverse quickly, and oil prices and inflation risks continue to suppress gold price rebound space. The market will most likely maintain a volatile pattern, with subsequent focus on Middle East geopolitical developments, U.S. inflation data, and Federal Reserve policy signals.
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