When it comes to prepaid consumption, I believe many consumers have experienced "traps". They paid money to apply for a card at some institutions, but the merchant suddenly closed and lost contact, causing the problem that it is easy for consumers to apply for a card and it is difficult to get refunds. Under the guidance of the People's Bank of China, the Digital RMB Operation and Management Center has built a digital RMB smart contract ecological service platform. The innovative services launched by commercial banks based on this platform can provide a guarantee for consumers' prepaid funds. Recently, the reporter learned that this service has been implemented in many locations across the country, and came to see the reporter visit.
At a tea wholesale market in Fengtai District, Beijing, Ms. Wang, a merchant, told reporters that they are mainly engaged in tea wholesale and retail, and the prepaid consumption involved is mainly offline prepaid services such as stored value cards for customers to order in advance and verify at the store. In recent years, the chaos of some colleagues taking money and running away has caused a lot of complaints, which has also indirectly affected her business.
Wang Xiaoyan, a merchant in Fengtai District, Beijing: What customers are most worried about is that after paying the money, the merchant goes bankrupt and runs away with the money. Especially new customers have many concerns, resulting in the loss of many orders of intent.
Ms. Wang started to access the digital RMB smart contract last year, which means that consumers’ prepaid funds are put into the digital RMB wallet and are specially managed by the smart contract. When the customer consumes, the smart contract will calculate the amount payable based on preset conditions and automatically transfer the funds to the merchant wallet. The merchant cannot withdraw the transferred customer’s prepayment at will.
The reporter also visited a gym in Fengtai District, Beijing. The person in charge told the reporter that prepaid consumption is the mainstream business model of the gym industry and is also an important source of revenue. However, the chaos of gyms withdrawing money, going bankrupt and losing contact has a great impact on the industry: new customers are afraid to apply for a card, old customers are unwilling to renew, and the cost of customer acquisition is rising. The launch of the digital RMB smart contract can enhance mutual trust between the two parties.
Chen Congzhi, the person in charge of a gym in Fengtai District, Beijing: Accessing digital RMB smart contracts can quickly solve customers’ trust concerns and help us retain customers. At the operational level, a large amount of manual verification of write-off course hours is saved.
Once there is an abnormality in the business operation, consumers can also recover their money through this service. Mr. Wang, a consumer in Qingdao, Shandong Province, once applied for a card at a gym. Later, the gym closed due to poor management. Because he had applied for digital RMB smart contract services in advance, he received a refund less than two days after the gym announced its closure.
Mr. Wang, a citizen of Qingdao, Shandong Province: I didn’t waste any time or effort to find a gym. As a result, the money was returned to the wallet of my digital RMB app. I was really surprised.
The reporter learned that this innovative service is being implemented in many places and scenarios across the country. The person in charge of a general aviation company in Chongqing told reporters that in recent years, consumer booms such as drone pilot training and low-altitude flight experience have emerged. Digital RMB smart contracts allow consumers to dare to choose prepayment methods.
Li Zhongliang, deputy general manager of a general aviation company in Chongqing: A special wallet for advanced products for consumers to buy prepaid cards. After the consumption is written off, the funds will automatically come to us. Now many consumers have come to inquire about the experience, and we can clearly feel that consumers trust us more.
