Why are ETC services free now and all major banks promoting ETC? What's going on?

Only one ETC can be applied for per car. Car owners are generally high-quality customers, and ETC stickiness is relatively high, and they are generally not easily replaced. Therefore, obtaining an ETC user is equivalent to marketing a high-quality customer, so banks are still very happy to handle ETC users. However, in the past, although banks also marketed, it was not as exaggerated as this year, and even free processing, all of which originated from the government's promotion.

Why is etc free now?

1. Lock in customers. By applying for ETC services and binding your credit or debit card account, you will establish a relationship with this bank whenever you incur toll expenses. You may have to go to the bank to deposit or transfer money every few days or weeks, and gradually you will get used to doing business in this place.

2. Collect a security deposit to stabilize some current savings. Most people who bind a debit card account need to keep a security deposit of 100-500 yuan (generally not required for early applications, and it varies from bank to bank), and it is not used to pay tolls, so it needs to be paid separately. As long as you do not close the account, this is one of the most stable sources of current deposits in the bank. Some people save trouble and even put large amounts of money in it for backup.

3. Charge overdraft interest. If customers who bind their credit cards are not careful about overdue repayments, the bank will unceremoniously charge you high interest of around 15,000 to 18,000 yuan, which is the main source of income for credit cards.

4. Charging loan interest. Some banks play tricks to deceive customers and open consumer loan business with your bound card. All your toll expenses are paid by consumer loan. You have to pay loan interest from the beginning. This is the most hateful thing.

5. Other business income. After using it for a long time, your deposits, financial management, settlements, and loans may all be transferred to this bank, which are all profitable businesses of the bank. If you can't resist the temptation of beautiful women and buy some insurance, precious metals, etc., then the bank will make a lot of money.

All major banks are promoting ETC. What's going on?

1. National support. On June 4, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Promotion of Electronic Non-Stop Quick Toll Collection Application Services on Expressways", which proposed that the number of ETC users nationwide would exceed 180 million by the end of December, truly achieving one card for travel across the country.

2. With the removal of provincial border toll stations, my country will promote charging of trucks according to their models starting from January 1, 2020. The future of exports will be ETC charging, and the import overload control will greatly increase the pace of ETC development. It can be said that the ETC market itself is a vast market.

3. Why do banks want to seize the ETC market? In addition to policy permission, it is mainly because of the essential characteristics of ETC. Whether it is a stored-value card or a credit card, applying for ETC can increase the number of bank depositors, and a part of the deposits can be recharged in the stored-value card. No matter how much, when collected together, it is a considerable deposit. The bank can be said to have gained depositors and stimulated deposits.

ETC is indeed quite favorable at present. On the one hand, the electronic tag is free; on the other hand, there is a discount for taking the highway, 95% off (some banks even offer 10% or 12% off).

Things to note when handling ETC at a bank

1. Be sure to communicate with the bank about the handling fee, annual fee, whether the annual fee is waived, and how long the term is. For example, credit cards will not always waive annual fees for you, so be sure to ask clearly about this.

2. If the ETC card or equipment fails, where can I go for repair? Is there any related guarantee?

3. When driving on the highway, ETC may encounter a series of problems such as blacklisting. Can the bank customer service guarantee 24-hour service?