该用户进一步表示，要不是看到短信通知我还不知道银行9月份已经发过公告，开通时候是柜员一再推荐下说该项服务是为了您资金安全考虑且不收费免费开通的，如今还要自行去网点或者手机银行、网银解约，再想想这还不是自己主观意愿开通的，只是为了减少今后不麻烦，为了取消该项服务在操作上费了不少时间，更别说如果是中老年人碰到这种问题，体验非常不好。Blue Whale News, December 20 (Reporter Jin Lei) Recently, a user reported to Blue Whale News that they received an SMS notification from MINSHENG BANK reminding them that due to business adjustments, starting from January 1, 2025, the bank will no longer continue certain preferential measures for SMS instant communication service fees for personal debit card RMB Accounts. Cancellation operations can be carried out; otherwise, normal charging standards will resume on January 1 next year.
According to the information provided by MINSHENG BANK, on September 30, 2024, the bank announced that "the termination date for the preferential measure of no charge for SMS notifications on single transactions that are greater than 300 yuan is December 31, 2024." After the expiration, the privilege will no longer be continued. The SMS instant communication service for personal debit card RMB accounts will resume the published pricing of 2 yuan/month/card/mobile number from the time the service resumes. If there are any fund fluctuations exceeding 300 yuan or any self-set threshold notification amount in January 2025, the bank will start charging for the first time in February 2025.
However, MINSHENG BANK has also provided an alternative solution, such as offering any amount fluctuation reminder services through the MINSHENG mobile banking APP, which is temporarily free of charge. Users can log into mobile banking—Instant Communication—sign up for APP instant communication to enjoy transaction notification services. The wording is also temporarily free of charge; whether it will charge in the future like the SMS instant communication service is still at the bank's discretion.
The user further stated that if it weren't for seeing the SMS notification, they wouldn’t have known that the bank had made an announcement in September. When it was opened, the teller repeatedly recommended that this service was to ensure the safety of funds and was opened free of charge. Now, there is a need to go to the bank branch or the mobile bank, or online banking for cancellation. Reflecting on this, it was not a subjective choice to open the service; it was just to avoid inconvenience in the future. Cancelling this service has taken quite some time, let alone if it were elderly people facing such issues, the体验 is very poor.
Blue Whale News checked the service price list of MINSHENG BANK and found that the above policy indeed will not continue in 2025. However, besides the recommended APP Instant Communication and WeChat Instant Communication, there are still several waiver options, such as SMS instant communication for II and III class RMB accounts, unit card RMB accounts, and foreign currency accounts temporarily being free of charge. Gold card customers (inclusive) and above VIP customers are also temporarily free of charge (VIP levels are adjusted regularly).
Industry insiders have stated that similar SMS notification services previously operated by most banks offered limited-time waivers. However, in the past two years, banks have been working to lower costs and improve efficiency, and increasingly more banks have been gradually restoring certain fees due to cost considerations. Although these promotional services claim to be free, in practice, once the service is activated, there is no time constraint, and they do not automatically cancel after the promotional period. For example, regarding the gold card waiver, if the user's Assets change and do not meet the gold card asset standard, fees will be charged.
It was also added that these fee changes are very small, making it difficult for a significant proportion of customers to notice, especially those who do not frequently check their accounts. However, based on previous instances, if a customer files a complaint about this at the beginning of next year, the bank will also be willing to proactively solve the problem and provide a waiver.
In fact, similar situations of "limited-time free" services are not uncommon in the banking sector, especially during promotional periods or for products with "conditional waivers." Besides SMS notifications, areas like account management fees, small management fees, and credit card annual fees are all common dispute areas. As a Consumer, it is essential to be vigilant, otherwise, you may unknowingly incur charges without full awareness.