The Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, and the National Financial Regulatory Administration recently issued the "Notice on Matters Concerning the Optimized Implementation of Fiscal Subsidy Policies for Personal Consumer Loans" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). This notice extends the implementation period of the fiscal subsidy policy for personal consumer loans until the end of 2026, sets a maximum subsidy limit of 3,000 yuan per borrower, and includes credit card bill installment services within the scope of support.
Following the release of the "Notice", several banks, including China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, and Postal Savings Bank of China, have issued announcements in response to the optimized requirements of the personal consumer loan fiscal subsidy policy. They have also provided related clarifications addressing key concerns raised by customers after the policy optimization.
On January 22, Zeng Gang, Chief Expert and Director of the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory, stated that the core breakthrough of this policy upgrade lies in achieving a普惠化 (inclusive) transformation characterized by全场景 (all-scenario), 全工具 (all-tools), 全机构 (all-institutions), and 强激励 (strong incentives). It upgrades the previous localized support policy, which had limitations on sectors, tools, amounts, and institutions, into a consumer credit support system with broader coverage, lower thresholds, and stronger incentives. This establishes a良性循环机制 (virtuous cycle mechanism) of "fiscal subsidies + financial concessions + consumer benefits."
Multiple banks have actively responded to the policy. Regarding the extension of the policy period, the "Notice" clearly extends the implementation period of the fiscal subsidy policy for personal consumer loans until the end of 2026. After adjustment, the policy implementation period is from September 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
Concerning the transition between the old and new policies, a common concern for consumers, several banks have provided clear explanations in their announcements.
On January 22, China Construction Bank announced that customers who had previously signed the "China Construction Bank Personal Consumer Loan Fiscal Subsidy Service Agreement" will automatically be subject to the latest subsidy policy starting January 1, without needing to re-sign the agreement.
On January 21, China Merchants Bank also stated that personal consumer loan customers who had previously signed the "Personal Consumer Loan Subsidy Supplementary Agreement" will automatically be subject to the latest subsidy policy starting January 1, 2026.
The "Notice" removes the requirement for a maximum single consumption subsidy amount of 500 yuan and cancels the requirement for a cumulative consumption subsidy上限 (upper limit) of 1,000 yuan for loans under 50,000 yuan per borrower at a single handling institution. It maintains the requirement that the cumulative consumption subsidy上限 (upper limit) per borrower at a single handling institution remains 3,000 yuan per year.
Regarding subsidy standards, Postal Savings Bank of China stated that the annual subsidy ratio is 1 percentage point (calculated based on the principal of the eligible personal consumer loan actually used for consumption or the principal of the eligible credit card bill installment), and it shall not exceed 50% of the annualized interest rate specified in the loan contract or installment agreement. The interest rate in the loan contract or installment agreement must comply with the relevant self-regulatory agreements on interest rates. The cumulative subsidy上限 (upper limit) for all personal consumer loans and credit card bill installments enjoyed by a single borrower at the bank is 3,000 yuan per year. Simultaneously, following the latest policy requirements, the bank has取消 (cancelled) the 500 yuan上限 (upper limit) on single consumption subsidy amounts and the 1,000 yuan cumulative subsidy上限 (upper limit) for personal consumer loans under 50,000 yuan.
A review of several bank apps revealed that China Construction Bank has launched a "Consumer Loan Fiscal Subsidy" section on its mobile banking app, featuring functions such as "Subsidy Service Agreement," "Subsidy Record," and "Upload Application." Users can access it by searching for keywords like "贴息" (subsidy) or "财政贴息" (fiscal subsidy) in the homepage search bar.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) App has launched a "Fiscal Subsidy, Installment Relief" section. Users can apply for bill installments through channels including the "ICBC e-Life" App, "e-Life Plus" mini-program, "Industrial and Commercial Bank of China" App, online banking, telephone banking, SMS, smart terminals, branch outlets, the WeChat App, Alipay App, and the UnionPay App.
The "Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Personal Consumer Loan Fiscal Subsidy Service Agreement" specifies the key sectors eligible for subsidies. These include the household automobile sector (covering car purchases, vehicle insurance, and maintenance); the elderly care and childbirth sector (including family aging-adaptation renovation services purchased by the elderly or their children, nursing home and retirement community services, childcare, assisted reproduction consumption, etc.); the education and training sector (including qualification certificate training and exams, continuing education for higher degrees, etc.); the culture and tourism sector (supporting consumers in purchasing domestic travel services through qualified travel agencies); the home furnishing and decoration sector (including home decoration, household appliances, kitchen and bathroom supplies, furniture, etc.); the electronics sector (including purchases of mobile phones, tablets, personal computers, wearable devices, etc.); and the health and medical care sector (including orthodontics, vision correction, health management, etc.).
It is worth noting that the "Notice" includes credit card bill installment services within the scope of support, with an annual subsidy ratio of 1 percentage point.
Su Xiaorui, a senior researcher at Suxi Zhiyan, stated that the inclusion of credit card bill installments in the fiscal subsidy support scope is primarily based on two considerations. On one hand, this move signals a shift in policy focus from大宗消费 (large-ticket consumption) to高频日常消费 (high-frequency daily consumption), transitioning from stimulating specific sectors to activating overall demand. From a product perspective, credit card installments can connect with hundreds of millions of consumers; their inclusion in the policy will enable more efficient and widespread reach among card users, far exceeding the efficiency of promoting new credit products.
On the other hand, considering the customer base targeted by credit card installments, this measure aims to precisely activate the consumption potential of younger demographics and those in下沉市场 (lower-tier markets). In these下沉市场 (lower-tier markets), credit card business holds a significant share of the entire consumer finance market. Simultaneously, credit cards can fully leverage the specific consumption preferences of younger customer segments, effectively supporting new consumption types such as entertainment and pet-related spending. Overall, this move is expected to optimize the structure of the consumer credit market while supporting further expansion of the credit card market.
So, how can one apply for credit card bill installment subsidies?
Bank of Communications stated that customers can sign the subsidy supplementary agreement during the process of applying for the bank's credit card bill installment service. Alternatively, they can retrospectively sign the subsidy supplementary agreement for installment services already processed during the fiscal subsidy policy implementation period through channels like the "Main Pay App, Loan Channel, Subsidy Section." By agreeing, the bank will apply subsidies to eligible installment transactions. If a customer does not sign the supplementary agreement, they will not receive subsidies, but this does not affect their normal application for and processing of credit card bill installments. The aforementioned functions are expected to be launched on the bank's own channels, including the mobile banking App, Main Pay App, and credit card customer service hotline, on January 23, 2026.
Regarding credit card bill installments, Postal Savings Bank of China stated that after the system is launched, credit card customers can simultaneously sign the fiscal subsidy agreement when applying for bill installments through channels such as the bank's mobile banking app, credit card WeChat mini-program, and WeChat official account.
Agricultural Bank of China stated that when each installment bill is generated, the bank will directly deduct the subsidy amount when collecting the installment interest, based on the subsidy ratio, subsidy上限 (upper limit), and subsidy period stipulated by the policy.
Zeng Gang believes that the policy's impact on stimulating大宗消费 (large-ticket consumption) and日常消费 (daily consumption) will differ. For大宗消费 (large-ticket consumption), the 3,000 yuan annual subsidy quota can reduce the credit cost of large expenditures like car purchases and home decoration. The expansion of handling institutions, coupled with trade-in policies, is expected to make upgrade consumption, such as automobiles and green appliances, a major growth driver. For日常消费 (daily consumption), the inclusion of credit card installments in the subsidies lowers the credit threshold for small-amount, high-frequency spending, promotes the integration of consumption scenarios and payment tools, and strengthens the foundation for consumption growth.
As key participants in the subsidy policy, consumer finance companies are also actively adapting to policy changes, continuously improving product design and service processes to ensure that subsidy benefits can reach consumers accurately and efficiently.
Ant Consumer Finance stated that it continues to strengthen support for consumption. This includes extending the subsidy policy implementation period until the end of 2026, removing the 500 yuan上限 (upper limit) on single consumption subsidy amounts to better meet consumers'大宗消费 (large-ticket consumption) needs, and lifting previous restrictions on consumption sectors.
Ant Consumer Finance primarily provides national subsidy services to consumers through Huabei Installments. It employs a combined approach of "policy subsidies + financial support + merchant discounts," collaborating with e-commerce platforms and brand merchants to increase subsidies for consumers beyond the national 1% subsidy, even offering interest-free installments.
Data shows that the amount subsidized by Huabei in collaboration with platform merchants for consumers increased by 23% year-on-year. After applying the national subsidy policy to interest-free installment scenarios, consumption potential was effectively unleashed. During last year's Double 11 period, the average per capita installment spending amount increased by 18% compared to September. After the launch of the "National Subsidy" section, the transaction volume for interest-free installments grew by over 20%, with the apparel industry's interest-free installment transaction volume increasing by nearly 50%.
Haier Consumer Finance's Smart Home Installment service adopts an industry subsidy model, offering interest-free installments to benefit consumers. It covers over five hundred home appliance models, including refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, activating the consumption potential for appliance upgrades. Beyond home appliance scenarios, Haier Consumer Finance has also partnered with drone training institutions, using subsidies to launch 0%-interest installment services for drone training. In 2025, Haier Consumer Finance disbursed a cumulative total of 1.76 billion yuan in new interest-free loans through industry subsidies.
Separately, CMB Wing Lung Consumer Finance launched a "Interest Subsidy惠民借 (Benefiting the People Loan)" campaign, offering new users up to 30 days interest-free. CCB Consumer Finance indicated that users who meet borrowing targets can receive gift vouchers worth up to 288 yuan, and new customers have a limited-time chance to draw prizes for interest-free vouchers worth up to 188 yuan.
Furthermore, Du Xiaoman launched a New Year shopping festival national subsidy activity. Through campaigns like "New customers get interest rate reduction coupons of up to 1.5%, 30-day interest-free coupons" and "Cashback with every loan," existing customers can enjoy subsidies of up to 1% to reduce their funding costs.
