The "streamlining" and "integration" of banking apps are accelerating. After Bank of China took the lead in shutting down its independent credit card app, Postal Savings Bank of China recently announced that it will gradually stop updating the "Postal Savings Bank Credit Card App" and migrate all related functions to the "Postal Savings Bank App". Prior to this, several banks including Beijing Rural Commercial Bank, Bohai Bank, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, and Sichuan Rural Credit Union also pressed the "integration button" for this type of business. Industry experts have stated that as the expansion dividend of credit cards fades and profit margins come under pressure, commercial banks are expected to improve user experience and resource allocation efficiency by integrating credit card services into their main apps, while reducing costs. The bank credit card business is accelerating its transition from an "independent entrance" to a "comprehensive ecosystem" service. Postal Savings Bank of China has shut down its credit card app, and another major state-owned bank has announced the integration of its credit card app business. Recently, Postal Savings Bank of China issued a notice on adjusting our credit card online channel services, stating that according to business development needs, the bank will soon adjust its credit card online channel services. During the use of the Postal Savings Bank App or Postal Savings Credit Card App, customers may receive a pop-up prompt titled "Grateful Companionship, New Departure". They can download and use the Postal Savings Bank App to integrate their credit card service channels based on this prompt. After the integration is completed, customers will no longer be able to use the Postal Savings Credit Card App. The reporter learned that the bank is currently integrating its online credit card service channels, and the "Postal Savings Bank Credit Card App" will gradually stop updating. All related functions will be migrated to the "Postal Savings Bank App". In fact, as early as November 12th this year, the bank announced that it would suspend the registration, binding, and activation services for new customers on the Postal Savings Credit Card App from November 15th. At present, the software can still be downloaded normally, but only supports existing customers who have registered and bound their credit cards to log in and use it. The reporter noticed that in order to do a good job in the service connection, in the "Postal Savings Bank App" credit card service section, the bank launched the new account exclusive rights and interests. During the activity, new customers who approved and issued the main card of the designated credit card had the opportunity to enjoy the 228 yuan WeChat deduction gift package or 228 yuan Alipay red packet gift package upon successful activation. There are also core functions for cardholders to choose from, such as bill installment, points zone, outbound zone, and limit adjustment. In response, Su Xiaorui, a senior researcher at Suxi Zhiyan, stated that Postal Savings Bank of China's follow-up integration of independent credit card apps, becoming the second state-owned large bank to promote this action, is a typical epitome of how banking institutions have actively carried out optimization actions based on the operating costs and profitability of credit card apps in recent years, reflecting the decline in the profit contribution of credit card business and its position in the banking business line. Behind every independent app is a complete set of research and development, testing, operation, and security systems. ”Lou Feipeng, a researcher at China Postal Savings Bank, said that when multiple apps have overlapping functions and dispersed users, the problem of resource consumption becomes very prominent, and integration can reduce related cost expenditures. Multiple banks are playing the "integration card". Postal Savings Bank of China is not the first state-owned large bank to announce the closure of its independent credit card app. On September 28th this year, Bank of China announced that in order to provide better and more efficient financial services, it will gradually migrate its "Colorful Life App" service to the "Bank of China App". After the migration is completed, the original app will stop downloading and registering, and gradually shut down the service. In addition, many city commercial banks and rural commercial banks have already started the process of "streamlining" their online credit card business channels. Since the beginning of this year, several banking institutions such as Jiangxi Bank, Beijing Rural Commercial Bank, and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank have shut down or integrated their credit card apps into their main mobile banking application platforms. The credit card apps of Bohai Bank, Hengfeng Bank, and Ningbo Bank were integrated as early as 2024. When it comes to the reasons why many banks voluntarily shut down independent credit card apps, industry insiders generally believe that as the credit card industry enters an era of stock competition, user growth peaks and customer acquisition costs rise, independent apps are gradually becoming a burden. Users not only need to download the bank app to check their accounts and transfer money, but also need to install a separate credit card app to grab discounts and repay bills. The operation path is scattered, which not only increases the threshold for use, but also dilutes the overall activity, "explained a person from the credit card center of a joint-stock bank. The original strategy of" sticking "users through high-frequency life services has become a weakness in the internal consumption of bank resources and user experience. In addition, the introduction of relevant regulatory policies is the direct reason for the closure of many independent banking apps. In September 2024, the Notice on Strengthening the Management of Mobile Internet Applications in the Banking and Insurance Industry issued by the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration proposed that financial institutions should optimize, integrate or terminate the operation of mobile applications with low user activity, poor experience, redundant functions, and high security and compliance risks in a timely manner. This notice also sends a clear signal that financial apps should be "few but refined" rather than "many but scattered". In fact, the evolution logic of credit card App integration trend is the inevitable result of the banking industry's transition from "horse racing enclosure" in the dividend period of Internet traffic to "intensive cultivation" in the stock competition stage. In a research report, Xingye Research pointed out that in recent years, in the wave of digital transformation, mobile banking has evolved from the initial "functional platform" to the core hub and comprehensive service platform for commercial banks' online operations. As the number of mobile banking users approaches the ceiling, the construction of mobile banking is entering a "deep water zone". From the perspective of layout strategy, the digital transformation of banks entering the "deep water zone" is no longer about optimizing a single function, but about reshaping systematic capabilities around intelligence, customer segmentation, and ecology. Although independent apps for banks can strengthen the refined operation of credit card business, having too many independent apps in the current environment will increase the operational burden of banks, including various costs such as development and maintenance. ”Su Xiaorui admitted that there may be some differences in the integration considerations and starting points of different types of banks. For example, state-owned banks place more emphasis on building ecological super apps, using integration methods to enhance brand unity and strengthen user stickiness; Stock companies hope to build differentiated competitiveness by deepening scene integration and user operation on the basis of their original retail advantages; Urban Rural Commercial Bank places greater emphasis on efficiency and survival, and its app integration is more focused on "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" as the starting point, focusing on localization and livelihood scenarios, seeking differentiated survival space in the fierce market competition of large and medium-sized banks. Integrated ecological services are the path for banks to integrate independent credit card apps, which essentially involves a strategic shift from "running a horse and enclosing land" to "cultivating meticulously". At present, China's bank credit card market is approaching saturation. According to data disclosed by the central bank, the growth rate of credit cards nationwide gradually slowed down from 2018 to the end of 2021, and began to decline in 2022. After six consecutive quarters of decline, the number of credit cards and combined debit and credit cards decreased by 47 million. In the past strategy of vigorously developing retail business, credit cards were the best customer acquisition channel. Banks are willing to invest more funds and increase the intensity of discounts and benefits to cultivate future customers. ”Industry insiders in the banking industry have stated that in recent years, the growth of retail and corporate businesses has been weak, and this approach of attracting customers through large investments cannot create more profits for banks. Therefore, the resources available to credit cards have decreased or become normal. In this situation, it will be of utmost importance for banks to carry out refined operations and differentiated competition for existing customers. A more practical approach now is to embed the core capabilities of credit cards, such as bill management, point redemption, installment payments, and rights collection, into the main app in a high experience and high response manner, while retaining personalized operational space. This can not only reduce operation and maintenance costs, but also improve user reach efficiency by leveraging the traffic of the main app. ”The above-mentioned person from the credit card center of the joint-stock bank stated. In his view, the integrated digital transformation path is "reducing and improving quality", that is, reducing redundant entrances, while concentrating resources on deepening the functionality, optimizing the experience, building the ecosystem, and enhancing the intelligence level of the main app. Su Xiaorui further analyzed that in the long run, the online service channels of credit card business may not necessarily be completely dependent on the main mobile banking app. Other new service forms (such as mini programs, embedded life service platforms, etc.) may indeed supplement or even replace existing models. In the future, commercial banks need to strengthen their "One Bank" digital strategy, based on their business characteristics and user preferences, to improve the online integration of various businesses from the aspects of operational experience, performance security, and user stickiness, and continuously improve and enhance the level of user experience. (New Society)