Online lending faces the strongest regulation yet: New rules take effect in August, and covert fee-charging tactics are blocked.

Ask AI · Why can hidden charging schemes persist for a long time in the loan-assistance (assisted lending) market?

IT Home reports on March 30 that the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the People’s Bank of China issued the announcement 《Provisions on the Disclosure of the Comprehensive Financing Cost for Personal Loan Business》 (hereinafter referred to as the 《Provisions》) on March 15, to take effect starting August 1, 2026.

According to a report by China Newsweek on March 29, multiple other well-known loan-assistance institutions have also been summoned for talks by the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

The report notes that many online lending-related products have complex interest-rate calculation systems. It is difficult for ordinary users to accurately calculate their costs at the time of borrowing, and they often realize something unusual only during the repayment process. For example, some lending institutions advertise a monthly interest rate of 0.8% but do not mention that, in addition to this interest, the borrower also has to pay so-called channel service fees of 2%—5%, a guarantee fee of 0.3%, and even a forced bundled account insurance fee.

The report also says that an insider in the loan-assistance industry stated that in the past, credit enhancement service fees and guarantee fees were often collected separately by partner institutions and were not included in publicly disclosed interest rates. For a long time, this has been a relatively hidden charging method in the industry; and this time, regulation has clearly blocked this pathway.

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IT Home notes that the 《Provisions》 have 11 clauses. Within the existing regulatory framework for information disclosure in lending business, they further specify the scope, operating methods, and stages of personal loan interest-and-fee information disclosure. The 《Provisions》 require lenders to present a comprehensive financing cost disclosure table to borrowers, clearly disclosing the interest-and-fee costs of personal loans, and to effectively promote the implementation and effectiveness of the requirements for personal loan interest-and-fee information disclosure.