Canceling the Review Deposit Was a Deeply Harmful Move, and a Regrettable One

As an operator of a mutual aid platform, I have always felt that canceling the deposit requirement for mutual aid funds was a deeply regrettable decision.

When the deposit was first introduced, the intent was never to raise more revenue, but to build a line of defense against fraud for the platform. A small deposit makes everyone who submits an application a little more cautious, filtering out many speculative applications from people with a 'nothing to lose by trying' mindset before they even enter the system. This both reduces false applications crowding out public resources and eases the cost-sharing pressure on every user, so that everyone can take part in charitable assistance safely and without being deceived.

But over the years the accumulated voices from outside gradually outweighed this consideration: many users did not understand it. A serious illness already drains a family's savings; having to pay before applying for assistance made them suspect the platform was raising money in disguise. Many self-media outlets launched criticism without digging into the risk-control logic behind it, and complaints kept pouring in. Under this mounting pressure, we eventually abolished the deposit.

The change after abolition was obvious: applications surged in a short time, and zero-cost speculative applications and fraudulent applications with forged documents began flooding in. Once the platform's review misses something, fraudulent applicants siphon off mutual aid funds, and in the end it is the mutual aid rights of all ordinary users that are consumed.

Over these years of operation we have made many humane improvements, and these adjustments have given the mutual aid program more warmth. But canceling the deposit, in the long run, is genuinely a blow to the sustainability of the entire mutual aid system. We are always struggling to balance user experience against risk control, and I only hope people can show a little more understanding — what truly lets mutual aid go far is never an unconditional 'zero threshold,' but the fairness and trust that all participants guard together.