After 40 years of development, credit cards have transitioned from a growth era to a mature market phase.

The number of credit cards and credit-debit combination cards decreased from 807 million at the end of June 2022 to 715 million at the end of June 2025, representing a loss of 92 million cards. In 2024 alone, 40 million cards quietly disappeared from the market.

With the completion of 2025 interim reports from listed banks, credit card business data from multiple banks has emerged. According to data disclosed by 6 state-owned banks and 8 joint-stock banks (excluding Zheshang Bank), the total credit card loan balance of these 14 listed banks reached 7.52 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, down 2.56% from the beginning of the year.

Financial writer Gao Chengyuan explained that credit cards are transitioning from being "traffic entry points" back to "profit centers," with the scale contraction being a healthy sign following risk clearance. First, banks' credit card non-performing loan rates are rising, creating asset quality pressure that forces banks to "slim down"; second, internet consumer loan balances plummeted in the first half of 2025, cutting off multiple borrowing channels, with credit cards as the "last lever" experiencing synchronized credit limit reductions; third, under dormant card cleanup orders, existing card numbers have significantly decreased, new card issuance has declined year-over-year, and banks are actively abandoning the "scale-for-subsidy" model with low returns and high losses.

Under industry contraction, some consumers complain that current credit card benefits are far inferior to the past. Staff from multiple banks told reporters that credit card applications no longer come with gift rewards, currently offering only discount credits.

Half-Year "Shrinkage" of Nearly 200 Billion Yuan

According to interim reports, the total credit card loan balance of 14 listed banks was 7.52 trillion yuan, down 197.8 billion yuan from the beginning of the year. Among them, 11 banks saw their credit card loan balances contract to varying degrees compared to the beginning of the year, with only Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank achieving balance growth.

Specifically, as of the end of the first half, China Construction Bank, CM Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China led in credit card loan balances with 1,058.011 billion yuan, 924.489 billion yuan, and 910.159 billion yuan respectively.

At the end of the first half, Bank of China's credit card loan balance was 522.499 billion yuan, down 13.88% from the beginning of the year; Ping An Bank's credit card loan balance was 394.866 billion yuan, down 9.23% from the beginning of the year; Industrial Bank's credit card loan balance was 341.660 billion yuan, down 8.07% from the beginning of the year. Additionally, CITIC Bank, China Minsheng Bank, Hua Xia Bank, and Postal Savings Bank all saw declines exceeding 5%.

In terms of credit card transaction volume, CM Bank achieved 2.02 trillion yuan in credit card transactions in the first half of this year, the only bank to exceed 2 trillion yuan in transaction volume, but this represented an 8.54% year-over-year decline. On September 1, CM Bank's Vice President and CFO Peng Jiawen stated at the 2025 interim results conference that banks' fee and commission income is under overall pressure this year, with the greatest pressure coming from credit card business income.

While credit card business scale contracts, non-performing rates at multiple banks continue to rise. As of the end of the first half of this year, credit card non-performing rates at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China increased by 0.25%, 0.13%, and 0.05% respectively from the beginning of the year.

Wu Zewei, a special researcher at Suzhou Commercial Bank, explained that the reduction in listed banks' credit card loan balances results from multiple factors, including slow consumer recovery constraining offline scenarios and card usage willingness, internet consumer finance platforms continuously diverting high-frequency small-amount credit demand, banks intensifying dormant card cleanup efforts and optimizing account structures, and some cardholders actively canceling cards due to reduced benefits. The industry is currently at a critical stage of transitioning from extensive customer acquisition to refined operations, with greater focus on deep value mining of existing customers and improving service quality and efficiency.

In fact, the declining trend in credit cards and credit-debit combination cards has been evident in recent years. According to the People's Bank of China's recently released overall payment system operation status for Q2 2025, there were 715 million credit cards and credit-debit combination cards at the end of the second quarter, down 6 million from the previous quarter, down 12 million from the end of last year, and down over 11% from the peak of 807 million in 2022, marking 11 consecutive quarters of decline.

Multiple Credit Card Centers in "Major Retreat"

Credit card service counters are no longer prominently positioned in bank branches.

Through visits to multiple banks, it was found that benefits for credit card applications are quietly decreasing. An Agricultural Bank of China staff member said that if customers are "pop-up customers" (those who frequently use bank cards for consumption and may be identified by the system as credit card pop-up customers), they receive small gifts, usually a bag of rice; non-pop-up customers receive no gifts.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's credit card activities target only new users, offering 20-30 yuan vouchers after binding WeChat and Alipay; for gifts, customers can choose one of six options from the e-life mini-program's gift section, including ovens, suitcases, and small electric cookers.

According to China Construction Bank staff, new customers receive instant rebate credits after activating credit cards. "There are 5 opportunities to spend 1 yuan to purchase 20 yuan WeChat instant rebate vouchers, equivalent to spending 5 yuan to get 100 yuan," the staff member said, noting no gifts like suitcases are available.

Bank of Beijing credit card applications also offer instant rebate credits, plus 9 yuan movie and dining discounts.

A CITIC Bank staff member said that for gifts like suitcases and bicycles, customers need to contact credit card center staff. They usually collaborate with several banks, setting up stalls near shopping centers on weekends, requiring multiple credit card applications at once to receive gifts.

In fact, multiple banks have announced adjustments to some premium card product benefits this year, involving raising usage thresholds, adjusting point rules, and reducing premium benefits.

China Everbright Bank's credit card center announced that starting September 1, 2025, Mastercard World Elite credit card lounge benefits will be adjusted, with service providers changing to domestic companies and unlimited usage rights limited to primary cardholders only.

CM Bank also announced that starting September 1, 2025, several products including the Classic Platinum credit card will be upgraded. The upgraded Classic Platinum credit card now requires "annual primary card spending of 180,000 yuan" in addition to the original 10,000 permanent points for annual fee waiver, while supplementary cards now require 100,000 yuan in spending.

Previously, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank's credit card center announced that starting July 8, it would close the "mileage exchange" platform's recharge entrance, with the exchange entrance closing on August 26, terminating the original "mileage value" model.

Furthermore, multiple bank credit card branch centers have successively closed. This year, over 40 bank credit card branch centers have been approved for closure, involving Bank of Communications, China Minsheng Bank, China Guangfa Bank, and others. Bank of Communications made the largest adjustments, with over 10 branch centers including Jinan, Shenyang, Shaoxing, and Huzhou centers ceasing operations in April alone.

Some People "Inexplicably" Get Cards

While credit cards are "ebbing," many consumers still report being "scammed" during credit card application or usage processes.

On the Black Cat Complaints platform, credit card-related complaints have exceeded 410,000, mostly concentrated on unauthorized charges, high overdue interest fees, and failure to notify about annual fees.

Luo Xiaobai recounted being "inexplicably" issued a credit card. According to Luo, last year at Tianfu Airport, staff guided check-in procedures, claiming they could process free Sichuan Airlines membership that would serve as both a membership card and bank card. Only after paying 3 yuan did he discover this was actually a CITIC Bank credit card.

According to research, CITIC Bank partnered with Sichuan Airlines in June 2018 to officially issue the CITIC Bank Sichuan Airlines Golden Panda co-branded credit card, available in four levels: World Card, Titanium Card, Platinum Card, and Gold Card.

After getting the credit card, Luo reluctantly accepted it. However, on September 2 this year, staff sent him a message reminding him that consuming 5 times annually regardless of amount could waive the annual fee, avoiding unnecessary 200 yuan annual fees for the second year.

Luo then called CITIC Bank's official customer service hotline requesting credit card function cancellation, with staff promising to call back within 5 working days. According to Luo's feedback, they have agreed to help cancel the credit card.

In fact, Luo is not alone in this experience. Qin Feng shared her story on social media, stating she didn't know non-use would incur annual fees when initially applying, only discovering the charge when receiving the second year's payment amount. "I was helping a colleague's friend meet performance targets, and they said applying would come with gifts, but didn't clearly inform about annual fees for non-consumption," Qin said. "A year later, I received a text about repaying 300 yuan, with interest for overdue payments."

Veteran credit card user Chen Xi encountered issues during repayment. Chen has used CM Bank credit cards for 5 years, always paying on time without generating interest. She described an incident where she had over 40,000 yuan unpaid on her current statement but made the minimum payment on the due date, with the remainder paid in full two days after becoming overdue. Later, checking her statement, she found over 1,000 yuan in revolving interest charges.

Chen then called customer service, who explained that revolving interest is charged from the statement posting date regardless of minimum payment, and full interest is charged once the grace period is exceeded.

Chen stated she was unaware of revolving interest and wasn't informed when applying for the card, including no revolving interest reminders on the Pocket Life app (CM Bank's credit card app), while other banks clearly inform about revolving interest and fee rules on payment pages.

Regarding this, CM Bank credit card customer service explained that there's usually a 3-day grace period, with interest charged after the grace period at 0.05% daily from the day after consumption until fully repaid. Concerning the payment page not clearly showing revolving interest payment methods, the customer service representative said fee standards are in the card agreement and can be found by searching.

On August 29 this year, the People's Bank of China issued an announcement proposing amendments to four regulatory documents including the "Electronic Payment Guidelines (No. 1)," seeking public comments. The core content proposes eliminating upper and lower limit management for credit card overdraft interest rates.

Specifically, the central bank will modify individual clauses based on business practices: first, delete regulations on upper and lower limits for credit card overdraft interest rates; second, delete credit card business information disclosure regulations; third, delete interest rate reporting regulations.

New finance expert Yu Fengyu commented that for consumers, this means credit card overdraft rates will be more flexible, with high-quality customers potentially enjoying lower overdraft costs while higher-risk customers may face higher rates. Financial institutions will need more refined risk pricing and enhanced risk management capabilities.