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3 million users ditch Alipay service Xiang Hu Bao


(ATF) Chinese people have been more sceptical about products on Alipay since Ant Group’s IPO was cancelled late last year. As the largest third-party payment platform and one of the most commonly used software in China, Alipay has an important position in the e-commerce sector, and its various services and functions also have a profound impact. But according to data released by SKR Technology, Alipay has been losing customers.

Alipay has various products such as Huabei, Bibei and Xiang Hu Bao, which went online in October 2018. It created a precedent for apportionment guarantees and attracted a large number of users since its launch. The original intention of Alipay to launch the service was to allow every user to get a certain degree of protection when needed, just like traditional insurance.

Also Xiang Hu Bao offers first time users the incentive to only pay a few cents a month. Only one or two years since Xiang Hu Bao went online, the number of users has exceeded 100 million. After all, for ordinary people, an extra guarantee is always good, and not to mention, the cost is not high.

However, currently, Xiang Hu Bao’s users have not increased, but in fact decreased. As early as January this year, it dropped to less than 100 million, and in March it lost 3 million users, according to SKR Technology.

As three million users chose to ‘escape’, why couldn’t Xiang Hu Bao keep them? According to SKP Technology, the answer is very simple, nothing more than three reasons, each of which is related to the basic protection of users. And for the transformation to Hu Hu Bao, many people appear to have accused Jack Ma’s company of lying, saying the current version is not seen as advantageous to users.

Insurance product not transparent enough?

First of all, Hu Hu Bao is only an internet product. Although it is supported by Alipay, it has not been certified. In other words, Xiang Hu Bao is not perfect; there may be many loopholes, and these loopholes often affect the user’s experience. For example, Xiang Hu Bao’s operation method has not been disclosed to the public, and no one knows how it provides insurance services.

From the point of view of the majority of users, Xiang Hu Bao, is a business that is not transparent enough, may have some potential risks. The reason why they choose Hu Hu Bao is because they want to get a certain degree of protection. If even this requirement cannot be met, Xiang Hu Bao will naturally lose the trust of users.

Secondly, the increase in the price for online insurance security is also one of the main reasons for the loss of Hu Hu Bao users. If you have the apportioned money, it is better to buy yourself a down-to-earth insurance policy. This is a common thread among users leaving the service. It is understood that from the first few cents to the current few dollars, the amount of of coverage has increased by dozens or even hundreds of times in just a few years, and users are feeling scammed.

A few yuan is not a big sum, but according to this trend, one day Xiang Hu Bao will treat users as “cows being fattened”, and the amount charged for the service will be increased. 

Finally, Xiang Hu Bao has another shortcoming that cannot be ignored, that is, the difficulty of claiming a settlement. Due to the lack of comprehensive insurance regulations and measures, it is difficult for Xiang Hu Bao to settle claims for users who really need it.

This is the last problem that should arise in insurance services. If the user submits the fee but cannot get the claim, then what is the significance of Xiang Hu Bao’s existence, asks SKR Technology?

As Xiang Hu Bao is changing its business model, the loss of users is an inevitable result. Three million may just be the beginning, and more users will choose to escape in the future.

As for whether Jack Ma is lying, there is no answer to this question, because he himself may not know what Hu Hubao is doing, and can’t be blamed, as he is incommunicado, according to SKDv Technology.

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Chris Gill

With over 30 years reporting on China, Gill offers a daily digest of what is happening in the PRC.

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