"Golden Installment" Business Rises, Hidden Risks of Illegal Lending

According to a report by CCTV Finance on March 26, 2026, the rising and fluctuating international gold prices have drawn market attention. Behind the booming demand for precious-metals investment and jewelry trading, some illegal gold business activities are also moving under the surface.

Recently, reporters learned through interviews that a business called “Gold installment” has emerged. It claims zero down payment and low interest rates, but behind it lies the risk of illegal lending. It uses consumption as a pretext, but in reality conducts lending. Prosecutors said that this kind of behavior—using lawful transactions as a cover to carry out illegal lending—is essentially a step-by-step chain reaction, with a total of a “five-step harvesting method.” The first step is precise profiling: targeting people with credit blemishes and those who have difficulty getting loans. The second step is script packaging: using pitches like “zero down payment” and “no credit check” to lure victim consumers. The third step is called a contract trap: merchants take advantage of ordinary consumers’ lack of understanding of laws and regulations, or their psychology of wanting to gain a small advantage, and evade financial regulation by signing installment purchase-and-sale contracts. The fourth step—also the key one—is called “Liquidity shortfall” — they set an inflated price, and then have consumers liquidate in a way that is below the international gold price, completing the harvesting and realizing illegal profits.