A call from an unknown number, a freely mailed POS terminal, yet behind it lies a multi-layered scheme of hidden fees.
Recently, a consumer reported to a financial news outlet that payment institution agents are still engaging in telemarketing of POS machines, promising "free use." The consumer repeatedly confirmed with the agent whether any other charges existed, receiving negative answers each time. However, after using the machine, they discovered the agent had only advertised the lowest possible fee rate in a misleading manner and had also forcibly charged a 99 yuan data fee.
Following this lead, further investigation revealed that through telemarketing, payment institutions are selling POS machines beyond their permitted operational areas across different regions. Furthermore, payment QR code plates, originally intended primarily for offline scenarios, have become a new tool for cash-out users via online channels. "One verified user can register as 50 different merchants," "different stores can use the same set of documents for registration, as the review is not strict"—these are the instructions given by some agents for personal users opening merchant collection codes.
A decade ago, the People's Bank of China explicitly prohibited the sale of POS terminals through online channels. Despite multiple rounds of targeted crackdowns, platform bans, and institutional self-inspections and clean-ups, the illegal practices of online and telemarketing sales persist to this day. They have even evolved, using payment QR code plates to update their methods, allowing cash-out channels to be reborn under a new guise.
On various internet platforms, online sales of POS machines still exist. To evade platform scrutiny, terms like "P0S card swiper," "PO card swipe," and "can swipe own card" using similar-looking characters have become key replacement keywords.
This ongoing cat-and-mouse game in the payment industry continues to hide within the cracks of e-commerce platform homophone keywords, short video traffic diversion, and institutions operating across provinces in violation of regulations.
Disputes Over Fee Rates
Telemarketing of POS Machines Beyond Permitted Scope
"Before activating this POS machine, I repeatedly confirmed whether there were any other fees, and the other party consistently promised free use. But in the end, not only were extra fees charged, but the actual rate also didn't match the advertised one," said consumer Lin Tian (pseudonym), describing his recent experience with a POS machine.
Lin Tian explained that in early June 2026, a POS machine agent proactively called him, recommending a machine called Member Treasure Pro. The agent promised Lin Tian that the machine would be shipped from the company headquarters, was free to use with no charges, and offered a card swipe collection rate of 0.6% and a QR code scan collection rate of 0.38%.
Screenshot information provided by Lin Tian shows that before confirming use, he asked the agent twice whether there were any annual fees, service fees, IoT card fees, or fast settlement fees, to which the agent replied "none." It was also noted that during their communication, the agent mentioned, "This POS machine has undergone AI intelligent upgrades and is very good for card nurturing and credit limit increases."
Subsequently, the agent mailed the POS machine to Lin Tian, who then completed the relevant merchant registration and activation process. On June 23rd, Lin Tian collected a payment of 2105 yuan through the POS machine, but the actual amount received was 1996.53 yuan, with a deduction of 108.47 yuan.
As the deducted handling fee differed from the agent's advertisement, Lin Tian contacted the agent for clarification. The agent's response detailed more nuanced differences in QR code scan settlement rates. The agent stated that for payments via WeChat or Alipay scans, the rate was 0.38% for amounts under 1000 yuan, 0.45% for amounts over 1000 yuan, and 0.55% for using Huabei. Only after Lin Tian persistently questioned the discrepancy between the deducted amount and the advertised rate did the agent mention an additional 99 yuan charge for using the POS machine's data service.
Regarding this charge and the reason for the earlier omission, the agent explained that the machine previously had no extra fees. However, due to recent changes in the payment industry with many payment institutions scaling back or being cleared out, mobile network operators now deduct data fees to ensure the machine's long-term use. Lin Tian was not convinced: "I am a merchant myself, not using a POS machine for the first time, and I'm quite familiar with the 'tricks.' That's why I repeatedly verified before starting if there were any other charges. This was a deliberate concealment by the other party."
Using the official customer service number provided on the POS machine, Lin Tian repeatedly contacted the product operator, Beijing Herongtong Payment Technology Co., Ltd., to request a refund but never received an effective response. During this process, Lin Tian received several more calls under the guise of "handling complaints" or "negotiating refunds." "I initially thought they were official customer service, but it turned out they were different agents, all trying to get me to activate new POS machines from companies like Yinsheng Pay," Lin Tian said.
Lin Tian stated, "The telemarketing POS machine scheme is like a chain, involving not only false advertising but also the risk of information leakage. I don't know how my phone number was obtained, or how new agents knew I wanted to handle a refund."
Information from the People's Bank of China website shows that Herongtong Payment obtained its payment license in June 2012, with the current license valid until June 2027. Its licensed business type is payment transaction processing Category I (formerly bank card acquiring). However, Herongtong Payment's business coverage is limited to Beijing. Lin Tian explicitly stated that his location and merchant registration address are in Guangdong Province.
Questions regarding how to regulate agent telemarketing of POS machines, how user information is obtained, and why cross-regional operations occurred were posed to Herongtong Payment and Yinsheng Pay. As of publication, no response has been received from the companies.
It is noteworthy that days after attempting to contact Herongtong Payment's official customer service to relay interview requests (the call did not connect), a financial reporter received multiple calls from personal mobile numbers in different regions. The callers all identified themselves as Herongtong Payment after-sales personnel, calling because the reporter had dialed the "Member Treasure 400" official hotline, specifically to handle complaint issues. Similar to Lin Tian's experience, some callers offered solutions involving activating a new POS machine.
In the view of Wang Pengbo, Chief Analyst at Bocon Consulting, Lin Tian's experience actually exposes two issues: cross-regional operations and inaccurate disclosure of fee information. Acquiring institutions are required to localize the operation and management of physical special merchants and are prohibited from conducting acquiring business across provinces. An agent using a Beijing license to expand merchants in Guangdong is a typical case of operating outside the permitted area and mismatched merchant information with the actual business location.
Wang Pengbo stated that regarding fees, adding a data fee and having the card swipe rate exceed the initially advertised rate indicates a failure to provide cardholders with truthful and complete disclosure of fee standards and charge items. This涉嫌变相加价和费率误导. Moreover, the geographical location of the payment terminal deployment must match the merchant's business address. If the locations do not match, the function should be suspended for verification. This machine bound to a different location circumvented local verification during the registration process. The acquiring institution's merchant management responsibility does not shift due to outsourcing. The agent's actions indicate that the payment company failed in its duties in three areas: merchant due diligence, terminal deployment management, and information disclosure.
Evolution of Methods
Cash-Out Vulnerabilities in Payment QR Code Plates
As a merchant with genuine usage needs, Lin Tian stumbled with the POS machine. Based on public information from platforms like the Black Cat Complaint platform, disputes arising from POS machine use are not uncommon, mainly focusing on unauthorized deduction of annual or data fees, withholding deposits requiring a certain volume of card swipes before return, etc. Further investigation reveals that personal users cashing out through payment channels is also rampant. Beyond POS machines, the payment QR code plate tool also facilitates credit card cash-outs.
Searching for the keyword "POS machine" on Baidu reveals many POS machine agents leaving personal contact information on webpages related to topics like "POS machine activation process" and "card nurturing tutorials." After contacting agent Li Chao (pseudonym), he first asked whether the purpose was "collection or credit card swiping." For the need of "credit card cash-out for周转," Li Chao recommended the Lakala payment QR code plate.
Li Chao explained that compared to POS machines, payment QR code plates have lower usage costs, can be matched with a larger number of merchants, and can make credit card statements more diverse. "The QR code collection fee rate is 0.28%, while POS machines are typically 0.53%. Through the Lakala payment QR code plate, one verified user can register up to 50 merchants. After printing the QR codes, you can scan them in rotation, and the payment amount is directly transferred to the savings card set during merchant registration," Li Chao pointed out.
Following the registration channel provided by Li Chao, a reporter successfully completed the Lakala merchant registration process using only information like internet pictures. After registration, a merchant verification number could be obtained within the Lakala app. After further verification as a merchant through WeChat and Alipay channels, the reporter could directly use a credit card for payment via their own WeChat and Alipay, with the payment amount settled into their own savings card.
During communication with Li Chao, he indicated that he had registered 150 merchants using three verified identities in this manner, which could be printed and scanned in rotation. Furthermore, in the card nurturing tutorial he provided to prevent risk control, it mentioned, "Lakala allows each person to open 50 terminals. It is recommended to open more than 10 at once, rotate scans for diverse bills and to prevent risk control," and "different stores can use the same set of documents, as the review is not strict."
The shift from POS machines to payment QR code plates reflects changes in the payment sector's regulatory and industry environment. Hu Hao (pseudonym), a personal agent with years of experience, explained based on his career. Hu Hao pointed out that in recent years, due to regulatory constraints like "one machine, one code, one machine, one merchant," promoting POS machine business has been difficult. Comparing the two, for 10,000 yuan in transaction volume, an agent can earn about 15 yuan from a QR code plate, while POS machine profits are mostly between 8-10 yuan. Therefore, many agents primarily promote QR code plates.
"The agent's main income source is the transaction volume from the equipment. To expand scale, online and telemarketing remain the main channels. However, on such channels, the actual sales effectiveness of QR code plates is not as good as POS machines because it's hard to explain quickly over the phone. POS machines themselves represent more of a passive demand, whereas QR code plates better match merchants' real needs and are more favored in offline promotions," Hu Hao explained.
Hu Hao stated frankly that for users with so-called cash-out needs, POS machines mainly involve the payment company and the credit card. QR code plates involve additional channels like third-party payments in the main business环节, carrying a higher risk of being flagged by风控.同时, the limits and controls on QR code plates are far stricter than on POS machines. For users or agents wanting to achieve large cash-outs or increase transaction volume, using QR code plates would be a very cumbersome process.
Questions regarding why false information can be used to register as a merchant for QR code plates, what specific measures are in place for verifying merchant authenticity upon entry, and how to govern personal users using QR code plates for cash-outs were posed to Lakala. In response, Lakala stated that the company has always placed high importance on compliance, explicitly requiring partners to strictly adhere to relevant national laws, regulations, and supervisory rules, conduct business legally and compliantly, ensure merchant authenticity, and strictly prohibit the sale of bank card acceptance terminals, barcode payment acceptance terminals, payment QR codes, and other collection products via telephone, internet, and other media forms.
In the cash-out process using QR code plates, how should responsibilities be divided between the acquiring institution and the payment channel? A资深从业人士 in the payment industry pointed out that in the use of QR code plates, the responsibilities of the acquiring institution and the payment institution are relatively clear. Merchant information verification falls under the responsibility of the acquiring institution. As an independent acquiring institution, Lakala needs to ensure the accuracy of merchant information as per regulatory requirements. If Lakala's merchant entry review process is not strict, it could lead to some users registering fake merchants with false information for cash-outs. This process does not involve WeChat and Alipay, etc.
Wang Pengbo believes that products like QR code plates require more vigilance than traditional POS machines because such actions further lower the operational threshold for cash-outs. This cash-out behavior本质上 is what regulators have long been targeting: one code for multiple merchants and one person with multiple accounts. Regulations like the "Barcode Payment Business Specifications (Trial)" and the "Notice on Strengthening Payment Settlement Management to Prevent New Types of Telecom Network Crimes" require that personal collection barcodes with明显的经营特征 be managed参照特约商户, limiting quantities and imposing constraints on remote collection via static codes, all to block channels that batch-package personal identities into merchants.
"Completing registration with false merchant information, then using credit cards through this collection code to achieve fund回流, has already gone beyond fee rate disputes and constitutes a cash-out risk because the transactions lack a real background, the fund chain is artificially split, and traceability difficulty significantly increases. This type of vulnerability generally lies in the基本失效 of the merchant onboarding review at the acceptance端, the lack of拦截 for batch account openings and identity packaging, and the payment institution's failure to履行到位 its merchant identity verification responsibility," Wang Pengbo补充.
Li Ya, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, further emphasized that "real merchant, real transaction, real settlement" are fundamental principles of payment business. Payment institutions conducting merchant准入审核 should implement real-name verification and authenticity checks. If fake merchant information can successfully open an account, it indicates potential vulnerabilities in merchant identity verification, business information verification, and continuous due diligence. Credit card funds are原则上 only for real consumption. Using multiple QR codes for循环收款, artificially creating消费交易,本质上 is concealing the true purpose of the funds. This not only disrupts bank card acquiring order but may also become a fund channel for illegal activities like money laundering, fraud, and illegal business operations.
Rampant Online Sales
Boldly Advertised as Supporting Credit Card Swipes
What needs vigilance is that online sales of POS machines have returned under new guises, even evading bans and permeating comprehensively on e-commerce, short video,兴趣社交, and other platforms.
It was observed that agents use these platforms to divert users to group chats, phone calls, or WeChat for promotion. Many even become "sellers" on e-commerce platforms, boldly advertising POS machines for "personal use," capable of scanning one's own card, and supporting Huabei and credit cards.
To evade platform monitoring and审核, agents often post advertisements using "homophone characters" or "similar-looking characters" related to POS machines.
Recently, searching for keywords like POS machine, POS, etc., on multiple e-commerce and二手交易 platforms showed no search results, reminders拒绝非法用途, or pages unable to display content. However, changing search keywords to P0S card swiper, POS scan, POS card swipe, PO card swipe, card swipe收钱, card swipe, collection, etc., revealed many marketing posts for POS machines or collection code plates from payment institutions.
Among them, on an e-commerce platform, a product named "Latest Handheld Scan Collection Cash Register Scan QR Code Payment All-in-One Machine" was listed on the "Scan Payment Box Bestseller List." The拼单 price was 16.8 yuan, advertised as usable by个人小微 without a business license, supporting all mainstream methods. When asked if it could be used for personal credit card swipes, the merchant直言, "Now machines for swiping on the platform cannot be sold, but you can use扫码支付. Ours is a正规扫码收款机, more stable for collection. Bind your信*卡 on支付* or微*, then use the machine to scan for collection."
Furthermore, a Taobao store named "Personal Aggregation Code No风控 Merchant" also listed a product named "Lakala QR Code收钱码 Remote Personal Merchant Aggregation Code Large Amount秒到 Can Change Multiple Merchant Collection Code." The product price was 3.88 yuan, advertised as热销1000+, usable by personal merchants,单笔五万,一人多户,极速办理,支持信用卡, and boldly advertised on the product homepage "可唰自己咔."
Another merchant named "Collection Payment Fast Line," besides indicating it could scan one's own card and was for personal use, even guided consumers in the product details to register fake merchants, advertising that one person could also apply, supporting Huabei and credit cards. The merchant stated, "You need to click注册商家 at the bottom,随便找个门头照片.收银台照片就好, upload it, write a normal生活工作的地址 for the address, then upload your ID card, click核实商户号 to scan,单笔两万秒到没有风控."
On another e-commerce platform, a merchant even used "Credit Card Swipe lakala" directly in the title for marketing. Priced at 9.9 yuan, it advertised personal秒到免押,可刷信用卡, with rates of 0.38% for scans and 0.55% for swipes.
Unlike e-commerce platforms, online sales behavior on short video platforms is more隐蔽. For example, searching for keywords like "card swiper," "card swipe收钱," on a短视屏 platform shows many accounts posting swipe card tutorials or guides, with hosts teaching consumers how to use card swipers for collection to divert traffic. A few agent accounts even livestream带货, with the host holding a Lakala collection code plate for demonstration, claiming support for "微某信," "花某呗," evading the platform's keyword interception mechanism.
Additionally, on the Xiaohongshu platform, many accounts also post content about avoiding pitfalls with POS machines, yet夹杂了不少营销广告. For example, an account named "Lakala Small and Micro Service Provider" recently posted科普 content titled "What Pitfalls Exist in Personal POS Machine Applications?" but placed a POS machine traffic diversion link in the comments, stating, "Due to backend rule restrictions, some materials cannot be posted," and引导 the reporter to add WeChat for further contact.
It's not just online sales; consumers also report receiving POS machine promotion calls隔三差五, with highly统一的话术, including old machines having too high rates,换新机终身低手续费, personal ID即可办理, etc. Among them, some agent sales personnel even use AI for telemarketing or posting ads.
Wang Pengbo pointed out, "The most prominent current issue is the systematic evasion of platform keyword blocking. Direct searches for related terms are屏蔽. Practitioners转而 use homophones,拆字, and other variants to bypass machine review. On the short video端, they use neutral content like收款教学 as a外壳 for traffic diversion, using隐晦表述 to evade identification of payment brands and products. This indicates existing审核 only covers literal keywords, lacking effective recognition of semantic variants, homophones, and sensitive information in images and口播."
"The impact of this behavior is巨大.违规营销 is accelerating its migration from图文 to直播 and私域. The stricter the platform bans, the more隐蔽 the话术 become, making consumers more easily induced to apply during seemingly ordinary收款教学," Wang Pengbo noted. In his view, platforms should upgrade their methods, verifying the operational资质和范围 of accounts involved in收款引流, directly限流下架 marketing content lacking acquiring institution authorization, avoiding审核 that remains浅层 where simply changing the wording allows passage.
Li Ya similarly stated that for promotional content with较强金融属性涉及 POS machines,聚合支付, collection codes, credit card services, etc., stricter准入审核机制 should be established. Platforms should use algorithms to identify high-risk keywords, abnormal直播内容,批量营销 accounts, and违规外链, focusing on识别 content with明显的规避监管倾向 like "cash-out" and "card nurturing." Platforms should承担治理义务 commensurate with their technical capabilities and control abilities.
Clear Bottom Line
When Will the Cat-and-Mouse Game End?
It is important to note that seemingly convenient online machine purchases are背后捆绑多重金融与法律风险, which is the core reason for regulators'持续高压整治.
Huabei emphasized to the financial news outlet, "Huabei坚决打击套现行为.智能风控 and反套现技术 will intercept suspicious transactions, reminding users. Actively participating in cash-out will affect the normal use of Huabei. Additionally, helping others use虚假交易 for credit card or Huabei cash-out and charging fees is a犯罪行为."
"There have been previous cases where individuals were prosecuted for illegal business operations due to Huabei cash-out," the aforementioned资深从业人士 in the payment industry also remarked.
In fact, regulatory禁令早已明确底线. The "Notice on Strengthening Payment Settlement Management to Prevent New Types of Telecom Network Crimes" issued by the People's Bank of China in 2016 clearly stipulates that no unit or individual may buy or sell POS machines, MPOS, or card swipe acceptance terminals online. Furthermore, in October 2021, the People's Bank of China再次 issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Payment Acceptance Terminals and Related Business" (Document No. 259), further强化 the硬性要求 of "one machine, one merchant,本地经营." Terminals must be bound to实体经营门店, implementing实地核查制度.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, large fines in the third-party payment sector have been frequent. Looking at the reasons for penalties imposed on institutions, the focus has been集中 on inadequate anti-money laundering implementation,失控的商户管理, and violations in account and清算管理.
Regulation has not been lax, and institutions have issued reminders, so why do乱象屡禁不止? Regarding违规网销 and诱导套现行为, questions were also posed to several platforms.
Among them, a relevant负责人 from a短视屏 platform stated that the platform prohibits发布 content containing宣传,推广,售卖 POS machines or引流 to offline channels for such purposes. For违规内容 like "giving away, selling,回收 POS machines or recruiting POS machine agents," once discovered, it will be下架处置. However, a少数账号 exist that隐晦发布 related content under the guise of "demonstrations" or "tutorials," diverting to offline for违规交易, making online识别难度较大. The platform will持续关注违规变体及外部反馈,从严治理违规内容.
WeChat Shop also明确禁止商家发布 POS machine (including MPOS), card swipers, and other acceptance terminal product information. Through日常巡查机制, it monitors and governs商家利用对抗手段违规售卖相关商品的行为. Currently, the platform has封店处理 for 20违规店铺.
Xiaohongshu emphasized that promoting or selling POS machines without资质均属于违规行为 and is content the platform持续管控. Currently, some违规账号伪装成普通用户,逃避平台审核 through经验分享, product测评,变体词, etc., to宣传售卖 POS machines or引流至其他平台进行交易. Recently, the platform has处置近千篇相关违规内容. Subsequently, the platform will继续挖掘违规变体,加强人工巡检,补充针对相关问题的治理策略和能力.
This cat-and-mouse game of违规网销 still has a long way to go for彻底整治.
Li Ya believes the根本原因 lies in the相对较低的违法成本 and较大的获利空间. The代理体系 has many层级,存在一定程度的 "责任传导衰减." From a责任划分 perspective,传播平台 should fulfill content审核,风险识别, and违规信息处置义务, preventing违法营销 from forming规模传播. Payment institutions should承担第一责任人的主体责任,加强代理商准入管理,营销行为管理,收费管理, and异常交易监测, not just pursuing transaction scale while忽视合规风险. Agents as直接营销主体 should truthfully宣传收费标准, not fabricate merchant information, induce credit card cash-outs, implement虚假宣传, and certainly not help circumvent金融监管. The development of the payment industry离不开创新, but innovation must坚守底线原则.
"Mainly because there has always been demand, and the利益链条 is long," Wang Pengbo stated. For agents,跨区域拓户,加收费用, and码牌套现 can all be directly monetized. However, payment institutions,出于走量和交易分润考虑, lack sufficient约束动力 against异地拓客. Platforms又能获得营销流量, and once regulation tightens,应对 by changing names,话术, and channels,治理始终滞后.
"But实际上, a notice from the China Payment and Clearing Association in May this year mentioned加强尽职调查,强化备案推荐,落实本地化经营要求," Wang Pengbo noted. He believes that payment companies, as acquiring entities, have merchant due diligence, terminal deployment verification, and outsourcing management responsibilities that do not转移 due to outsourcing. They should be held accountable according to the双罚制, both the institution and responsible individuals. Agents, as外包机构, must implement本地化经营 and备案要求. Those involved in虚假注册 or assisting cash-outs should be追究责任.传播平台则应承担内容审核和资质核验的主体责任.
Regarding后续治理, Wang Pengbo suggested that technical constraints like属地核验 for terminals and码牌,一机一码, and merchant quantity上限 should be truly落到实处. Platform keyword治理 should be elevated to the语义和图像层面.同时,加大对异地展业和违规代理的处罚力度, making payment institutions calculate the cost账 of纵容代理. Only then can乱象有望得到实质性遏制.
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