Credential fraud has become a sword of Damocles hanging over cross-border e-commerce sellers, where a single misstep could lead to devastating consequences. Temu has recently intensified its merchant credential verification process, aiming to clean up market irregularities and protect consumer rights. Under these new regulations, how sellers can self-audit and avoid "collective punishment" risks has become a critical survival issue.
Temu's Enhanced Credential Verification: Background and Motivation
The platform's credential verification upgrade isn't arbitrary but reflects the inevitable trend toward standardization in cross-border e-commerce. As Temu expands, issues like inconsistent product quality and credential fraud have become increasingly prominent, damaging the platform's reputation and user experience. The strengthened measures aim to purify the marketplace and enhance overall competitiveness.
Key aspects of the upgrade include:
- Stricter verification standards: Moving beyond superficial document checks to verify authenticity, validity, and product relevance.
- Broader enforcement scope: Implementing "collective punishment" where related stores face scrutiny if one store has credential issues.
- Harsher penalties: Including withdrawal restrictions, progressive fines, and store suspensions for fraudulent activities.
Primary Violations Under Scrutiny
Temu is focusing on two major violations:
- Shared credentials: Strict prohibition against multiple stores using identical credentials, with cross-verification to detect "credential leasing."
- Product-credential mismatch: Particularly targeting category mismatches and false declarations, even if credentials are borrowed in good faith.
Manufacturer Risks and Joint Liability
Manufacturers' credential issues pose significant risks to sellers. Manufacturers with repeated quality failures or credential anomalies will be blacklisted, potentially triggering penalties for associated sellers. Even after severing ties, existing inventory may face retrospective checks. Some high-risk manufacturers already face partnership restrictions, requiring sellers to switch to compliant suppliers immediately.
Detailed Penalty Structure
For credential fraud, Temu will impose:
- Account withdrawal restrictions
- Progressive fines based on violation severity
- Store suspensions for egregious cases
- Mandatory testing for linked stores (costing $70-$140 per test) with additional fines for non-compliant goods
Upgraded Product Quality Standards
Temu now requires separate certifications for electronic product variants beyond cosmetic color differences. Categories requiring chemical testing (e.g., RoHS) must provide reports covering all SKU variations with clearly noted distinctions, significantly increasing compliance costs.
Testing Agency Regulations
The platform only accepts reports from authorized testing agencies in its cross-border service marketplace. Non-compliant agencies face blacklisting, while authorized ones must post security deposits—potentially raising testing costs. Sellers must verify agency credentials and platform approval status.
Critical Self-Check Items for Sellers
Sellers should immediately audit:
- Complete testing report information (product name, model, manufacturer, standards)
- Verifiable report numbers through official channels
- Perfect sample-product consistency
- Compliant testing items per relevant standards
- Authentic, unaltered test data
- Valid agency credentials
- Current report expiration dates
Special Requirements for Key Categories
Electronics and toys now require comprehensive testing—no sampling allowed. Sellers must provide complete reports for every component, material, and color variant, substantially raising compliance costs for these products.
Building Independent Credential Systems
Experts recommend establishing fully independent credential systems to avoid sharing risks. This involves thorough verification of all supply chain documents, prohibiting any credential sharing (including between affiliated stores), and partnering with authorized testing agencies for product-specific compliance reports. Systematic credential management not only reduces operational risks but enhances brand compliance competitiveness.
Credential Application Considerations
When obtaining credentials, sellers should beware of suspiciously low prices and insist on authentic, traceable reports with complete raw data. As cross-border e-commerce environments grow more regulated, only sellers who strictly adhere to platform rules and international regulations—while establishing systematic credential management—can achieve stable growth in this competitive market.