The short video giant, Kuaishou, is making no attempt to conceal its ambitions in the lending business. Information from Tianyancha shows that at the end of 2025, the registered capital of Guangzhou Kuaishou Small Loan Co., Ltd. (Kuaishou Small Loan) was changed, increasing from 500 million yuan to 1 billion yuan. Previously, in September 2025, its parent company, Beijing Yunche Technology Co., Ltd. (Yunche Technology), saw its registered capital surge by 1 billion yuan, swelling from 1.255 billion yuan to 2.255 billion yuan. Typically, when a small loan company increases its capital, beyond meeting regulatory leverage requirements, the more crucial objectives are to expand its capital pool, enhance its loan disbursement capacity, and seize market share. According to relevant regulations, the maximum financing leverage for small loan companies is "1+4." A registered capital of 1 billion yuan can theoretically support a loan fund pool of 5 billion yuan, meaning Kuaishou Small Loan's lending capacity is set to double compared to before the capital increase.
Seamless Finance: Watch Videos → Borrow Money → Place Orders Tracing Kuaishou's footsteps in the financial sector reveals a carefully plotted, step-by-step strategy that has already woven a extensive network. Kuaishou's foray into finance began in 2020. That year, it acquired over 50% of the shares of Yilian Payment through a combination of nearly 300 million yuan in cash and some stock, indirectly obtaining this crucial license. Over the next three years, using this payment and fund flow channel as a pivot, Kuaishou pursued a dual strategy to drive conversions (and earn commissions), while quietly cultivating its own financial ecosystem: on one hand, directing traffic to loan facilitation platforms for commission fees; on the other, launching a "loan supermarket," aggregating cash loan products from third-party platforms for users to filter and compare. According to industry sources, by the end of 2024, the outstanding balance of Kuaishou's loan facilitation business was approximately 5 billion yuan. In March 2024, the Guangzhou Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau issued an approval, agreeing for Guangzhou Huaduo Network Technology Co., Ltd. to transfer its 100% stake in Guangzhou Huanyu Small Loan Co., Ltd. to Kuaishou's affiliated entity, Beijing Yunche Technology Co., Ltd. In April of the same year, Huanyu Small Loan was renamed Kuaishou Small Loan. After obtaining the online micro-lending qualification, Kuaishou began laying the groundwork for its cash loan business. In August 2025, Kuaishou quietly launched its own branded cash loan service, "Kuaishou Shenxin Jie" (Kuaishou Easy Borrow). Citing exclusive information from a media source, compared to third-party platforms, Kuaishou Easy Borrow offers lower interest rates and is expected to primarily engage in lending partnerships priced below 24%; Kuaishou's lending service further clarified its interest rate range, adjusting the annual percentage rate (APR) to 6.1%-24%, whereas previously public information showed a range of 7.2%-36%. However, the Kuaishou lending page no longer displays specific interest rates; users must apply to see them. Additionally, the page offers users more third-party lending products. In fact, prior to its cash loan service, Kuaishou also launched "Kuaishou Yuefu" (Kuaishou Monthly Pay) in June 2025. As a credit payment service focused on consumption installment plans, Kuaishou Monthly Pay can be used within Kuaishou's mini-stores, offering an interest-free period of up to 37 days, meaning no extra fees are incurred if users repay on time. Similar to Ant's "Huabei," Kuaishou Monthly Pay primarily aims to meet users' installment payment needs within Kuaishou's e-commerce ecosystem, helping to unlock consumption potential on the platform. Although there is no public data for Kuaishou Monthly Pay to date, analysis estimates based on the platform's active user base suggest that if its penetration rate reaches 10%, and assuming an industry average installment service fee of 2%, it could contribute over 2 billion yuan in annual revenue. With the capital increase of Kuaishou Small Loan now complete, it will fuel Kuaishou's in-house credit business, potentially significantly boosting its lending scale in the future. It has been observed that Kuaishou is heavily recruiting financial personnel on BOSS Zhipin, including development engineers for credit services, senior risk strategy analysts for its monthly pay product, financial large model algorithm experts, and payment business specialists. From directing traffic for loan facilitation to launching Kuaishou Monthly Pay and its own lending service, Kuaishou's financial ecosystem is gradually taking shape. This also signifies that users on the platform can now complete a full consumption cycle: "watch videos → borrow money → place orders."
Compliance Remains the "Achilles' Heel" Like many other platforms, Kuaishou Finance faces a significant compliance challenge. Complaints on the Hei Mao Tou Su platform show an increase in维权词条 related to Kuaishou Monthly Pay and Kuaishou's lending service, primarily focusing on aggressive debt collection practices and high interest rates, with some reports even involving collection attempts targeting non-borrowers. For instance, one user reported receiving harassing calls from someone claiming to be a Kuaishou Easy Borrow official conducting debt collection with an extremely poor attitude, even though the user did not owe any money to Kuaishou Easy Borrow. Another user wrote that Kuaishou's lending service employed aggressive collection tactics, using illegal methods like SMS bombing—thousands of messages a day—along with threats and intimidation, severely disrupting their normal life and even contacting family members, leading to near mental depression. It is worth noting that in March 2025, the "Internet Financial Personal Online Consumer Credit Post-Lending Collection Risk Control Guidelines" were issued. As the first national-level regulation focusing specifically on the collection process, the policy strictly delineates several red lines: no collection activities are allowed between 22:00 and 08:00 daily; voice calls for collection to the same debtor must not exceed three times per day; collection efforts should be directed only at the debtor, with collection from guarantors or other jointly liable parties strictly limited by laws, regulations, and agreement terms; third-party agencies are prohibited from subcontracting collection business, and the entire process must be recorded for potential review. High interest rates are also a widely criticized issue for Kuaishou's lending service. Multiple users have posted on Hei Mao Tou Su stating: In July this year (2025), I borrowed 10,000 yuan through Kuaishou's lending service. Including guarantee fees and interest, the total repayment amounts to 12,055.32 yuan, which constitutes usurious interest with an annual rate reaching 36%. Customer service claimed it was a normal charge. I demand the refund of guarantee fees exceeding the national limit. Applied for a loan through Kuaishou's lending service; the loan was disbursed without a contract, in violation of regulations, and the interest is higher than the national limit, with illegal charges for guarantee fees and consultation fees. I demand the return of these illegally charged fees. On September 1, 2025, I borrowed 4,400 yuan through the "Kuaishou·Lending" portal in the Kuaishou app. The loan interface clearly displayed "Comprehensive Annual Interest Rate (Simple Interest) starting from 23.98%," with labels promoting transparent fees and ultra-low rates. However, after borrowing, the repayment plan was for 12 equal installments (principal and interest) of 442.01 yuan each, totaling 5,304.12 yuan, corresponding to a comprehensive annual interest rate as high as 35.99%, which severely contradicts the platform's advertising. According to available information, the new loan facilitation regulations, effective from October 1, 2025, established a core regulatory principle: "penetrative, total cost pricing." This requires incorporating all costs—including interest, credit enhancement service fees, guarantee fees, etc.—into the calculation of the comprehensive financing cost. All fees must be listed separately in the contract, avoiding vague terms like "consultation fee," "advisor fee," or "material fee," and the annualized interest rate must not exceed the 24% judicial protection upper limit. This measure fundamentally ends prevalent practices in the loan facilitation industry, such as "dual guarantee fees" and "bundled membership fees" used to split interest rates, fundamentally altering the industry's pricing logic and providing strong protection for consumers. To some extent, the introduction of the new loan facilitation regulations has built a strong levee for consumer rights protection, but it has also precisely targeted the "compliance weakness" of Kuaishou's financial business. From loan facilitation and in-house cash loan products to monthly payment services and capitalizing its micro-lender, Kuaishou has now bridged the last mile of live-streaming e-commerce—payment + lending. However, the volume of user complaints reveals significant shortcomings in interest rate compliance, fee transparency, and collection management. With the implementation of the new "penetrative, total cost pricing" regulations for loan facilitation, these historical issues are transforming into urgent compliance pressures. For Kuaishou, if it truly aims to achieve sustainable development for its financial business, it must firmly establish compliance as the crucial cornerstone.
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