On September 1st, personal consumer loan subsidies officially commenced. Starting today and for the next year, individual residents can enjoy interest subsidy policies on personal consumer loans (excluding credit card services) issued by lending institutions for actual consumption purposes, provided the lending institutions can identify relevant consumer transaction information through loan disbursement accounts.

Currently, 23 lending institutions have all launched loan subsidy functions. Beyond the 6 state-owned banks and 12 joint-stock banks, multiple consumer finance companies including Ant Consumer Finance and China Merchants Bank Consumer Finance Company have also issued announcements regarding personal consumer loan interest subsidies and initiated related subsidy programs.

According to the "Notice on Issuing the Implementation Plan for Personal Consumer Loan Fiscal Interest Subsidy Policy (Finance No. 80, 2025)" (hereinafter referred to as "the Plan"), the subsidy scope includes single consumption transactions under 50,000 yuan, as well as consumption in key areas of 50,000 yuan and above for household automobiles (excluding vehicle purchases), elderly care and childbirth, education and training, culture and tourism, home furnishing and decoration, electronic products, and healthcare.

**Banks Launch Subsidy Programs, Direct Deduction During Interest Collection**

Multiple bank representatives confirmed that bank subsidy programs have commenced, with personal consumer loan interest subsidies available starting today.

"Generally speaking, banks can only complete interest subsidies on personal consumer loans on repayment dates," a joint-stock bank employee explained, noting that currently there are no successful cases of subsidy fund collection.

Banks universally adopt the practice of "directly deducting fiscal subsidy funds when collecting loan interest."

China Merchants Bank, CITIC Bank, Zheshang Bank, and China Guangfa Bank all specify that when banks calculate interest on loans, they compute subsidy amounts according to subsidy ratios and limits stipulated in the Plan and supplementary agreements, directly deducting subsidy funds when collecting loan interest from customers.

Regarding subsidy calculation, China Merchants Bank states that the annual subsidy rate is 1 percentage point (calculated based on qualifying consumer loan principal), with a maximum not exceeding 50% of the contractual loan rate. Each borrower's cumulative subsidy limit for all personal consumer loans at China Merchants Bank is 3,000 yuan (corresponding to qualifying cumulative consumption of 300,000 yuan). The cumulative subsidy limit for single personal consumer loans under 50,000 yuan is 1,000 yuan (corresponding to qualifying cumulative consumption of 100,000 yuan). For key area consumption above 50,000 yuan per transaction, subsidies are calculated with a 50,000 yuan consumption limit.

Application methods for personal consumer loan subsidies are relatively consistent across banks.

Analysis reveals that execution measures announced by Industrial Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, CITIC Bank, Huaxia Bank, China Minsheng Bank, China Merchants Bank, and others all require consumers to sign supplementary agreements to apply for subsidies, with some requiring offline branch visits to submit consumption purpose documentation for manual review.

When consumers authorize banks to query consumption transaction information in their bank accounts and bank systems can automatically identify it, banks will automatically provide subsidies. For transactions not identifiable by bank systems, consumers must submit materials for manual review.

Multiple bank announcements clarify that for system-unidentifiable cases, customers can apply for subsidies through offline manual channels, requiring submission of genuine consumption invoices and other purpose verification materials. Banks will provide loan subsidies after manual verification and approval.

**Consumer Finance Companies Have Slightly Different Subsidy Approaches; Huabei Will Enjoy Subsidies in "Huabei Installment" Payment Scenarios**

Personal consumer loan interest subsidy lending institutions also include multiple consumer finance companies, which have launched subsidy models with execution plans differing slightly from banks.

Ant Consumer Finance primarily participates in this subsidy program through Huabei. However, since Huabei inherently offers a 41-day interest-free period with no interest charges during this period, users can mainly enjoy this subsidy policy when using "Huabei Installment" payment scenarios. This program is gradually opening to users.

Nationwide, over 40 million merchants support "Huabei Installment" payments. Many merchants, to promote consumption, were already providing consumer subsidies before this national subsidy policy launch, achieving 3-period interest-free Huabei installments, and even 6-period, 12-period, and 24-period interest-free options. Products with Huabei installment interest-free terms remain interest-free. When consumers use Huabei installments to purchase interest-bearing products, they can enjoy a 1% subsidy. After selecting Huabei installment payments, users can enjoy immediate rate reductions without additional operations.

China Merchants Bank Consumer Finance Company offers two subsidy application methods: automatic subsidies apply to entrusted payment services, where loan funds are directly paid to designated merchants (such as installment mall interest-bearing purchases) with clear purposes, allowing automatic subsidy processing without customer operations.

"Application review subsidies apply to autonomous payment services, where loan funds are disbursed to borrower accounts, requiring customers to sign supplementary agreements and authorize our company to query consumption purpose documentation," the company states. System-identifiable consumer transactions receive automatic subsidies, while unidentifiable transactions require uploading genuine consumption purpose documentation corresponding to loan usage, including invoices and bank statements, with subsidies provided after review.

**Subsidy Policies May Drive Rising Consumer Demand; Residents Should Apply for Consumer Loans Based on Actual Needs**

Industry professionals believe the launch of personal consumer loan interest subsidy policies will drive sustained growth in consumer demand.

CICC banking analyst Lin Yingqi notes that for handling institutions, loan subsidy policies can stimulate loan demand while protecting interest margins, promoting consumer and service industry credit scale growth. For consumers, loan subsidy policies reduce borrowing costs. With a 1% subsidy rate, every 10 billion yuan in fiscal expenditure can theoretically leverage 1 trillion yuan in consumer demand, significantly exceeding consumption subsidy leverage effects.

Everbright Securities financial industry chief analyst Wang Yifeng also believes that current resident employment and income long-term variables still need improvement, with overall leverage capacity and willingness remaining low. After subsidies, high-quality customer consumer loan actual financing rates will fall below 3%, with low rates potentially boosting consumer loan demand.

"Fiscal subsidy policies convey clear policy signals, helping boost confidence and expectations," states China Merchants Bank Consumer Finance Company Chief Researcher Dong Ximiao. This will directly reduce resident consumer credit costs, enhancing resident willingness and capacity to expand consumption and improve living standards, while reducing financing costs for consumer sector operators, helping maintain business continuity and provide more quality products and services.

However, Dong Ximiao emphasizes that residents should apply for personal consumer loans through legitimate financial institutions like commercial banks and consumer finance companies to enjoy subsidy policy benefits. Applications should be based on personal and family consumption needs and actual requirements, proceeding moderately and reasonably. One should not apply carelessly due to high limits, low rates, or subsidies, maintaining personal debt burdens at reasonable levels.

"Residents should use consumer loans for reasonable consumption, not illegally for investment or wealth management purposes," Dong Ximiao advises. Financial institutions should accurately assess repayment capacity based on consumer occupation, income, debt, and credit status, strengthen monitoring of loan purposes and fund flows, ensure loans aren't misused and subsidy funds aren't fraudulently obtained, improve credit approval scientific accuracy, reduce "multiple borrowing" and excessive credit granting, and protect legitimate consumer rights.