Electric vehicle rental merchants and illegal employment "agents" collude, using various false promises to tempt food delivery riders to sign car rental installment contracts through "rent - to - own" schemes; pet stores use "free adoption" as a bait to attract consumers, but actually require consumers to purchase pet supplies in installments... In response to the chaotic business operations of some merchants on the platform, Alipay issued an announcement: strict crackdown.
On March 11, the Alipay Open Platform announced the governance of the illegal use of API interfaces such as "Zhima Xianxiang" and "Merchant Deduction". Data shows that in the past year, the platform has, through regular inspections, regulated 1,289 illegal rental mini - programs and 189 merchants with illegal operations in the prepaid consumption field. At the same time, for key industries such as pet, car rental, and education and training, two new capabilities, namely "User - initiated Refund" and "Merchant Deduction Reminder", have been added for merchants to further enhance the consumer service experience and protect consumer rights.
It is understood that as a digital business open platform, in order to enhance the consumer experience and assist merchants in digital operations, Alipay has opened product interfaces such as "Zhima Xianxiang" and "Merchant Deduction" for industries such as pet, electric vehicle rental, and education and training. Admitted merchants and service providers can access these interfaces according to their actual business needs and form digital business solutions for specific scenarios.
Alipay stated that during routine inspections, it was found that a small number of merchants and service providers used the interfaces irregularly, and some even resorted to false propaganda to conceal or mislead consumers about product services. In accordance with relevant business management regulations, the platform has punished a number of merchants involved in false propaganda and malicious operations in multiple industries, including 109 education - industry merchants, 9 two - wheeled vehicle rental merchants such as "Xin Fengge Mobility", and 60 pet merchants. Punitive measures include halting their new user orders, taking down relevant mini - programs, and suspending the admission of new merchants for a certain period.
At the same time, to further protect consumer rights and enhance the consumer service experience, the Alipay Open Platform has introduced three measures:
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New merchant management rules: Merchants need to handle user complaints within 48 hours.
For industries such as fitness, beauty, pet, and electric vehicle rental, the platform will upgrade merchant business management rules, requiring merchants to shorten the processing time for consumer complaints [download the Heimao Complaint client]/disputes to within 48 hours. If the time limit is exceeded, the platform will intervene.
At the same time, in the publicity of merchants in the above - mentioned industries, content such as "enjoy for free, buy for free, place an order for free, learn for free, adopt for free, learn without charge", which is suspected of false promises, exaggeration, and inducement, will be regarded as a type of illegal behavior. -
Continuously iterate product services and open the "User - initiated Refund" function.
To strengthen consumers' right to choose, the platform has also opened the "User - initiated Refund" product function for merchants and service providers in industries such as electric vehicle rental, pet, education and training, and fitness. Some merchants have already tested and enabled this function, allowing consumers to apply for contract termination with one click.
In case of abnormal situations such as merchants ceasing services or going bankrupt, consumers can provide evidence and file a complaint at any time. After verification by the Alipay platform, the agreement can be terminated, and no further deductions for the remaining periods will be made. -
Optimize the product process and add the "Merchant Deduction Reminder".
To meet users' right to know, the platform is continuously optimizing its product capabilities, including strengthening user authorization reminder prompts on the page. For the periodic deduction models in industries such as electric vehicle rental, fitness, and beauty, the Alipay product has added the "Merchant Deduction Reminder" function, which sends a text message reminder to users five days before the deduction.
Alipay said that it will continue to strengthen governance in key industries and calls on merchants and service providers to abide by platform rules and jointly create a healthy business environment.
The "Announcement" specifically reminds that practitioners in related industries such as food delivery riders should pay closer attention to relevant agreement terms when facing the actions of merchants such as electric vehicle rental to avoid being deceived. If necessary, they can properly keep the relevant agreements signed with merchants to protect their own rights. If users find clues of illegal operations by relevant merchants, they can call the customer service hotline "95188" to report to the platform.
