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Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 11:05
Easing the payment problem
By Zhou Wenting in Shanghai
Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 11:05 By Zhou Wenting in Shanghai

Students with a good credit rating can enjoy services without paying a deposit

Students with good credit records at Shanghai Jiao Tong University can now enjoy some services, including borrowing books from machines, without paying a deposit. (ZHOU WENTING / CHINA DAILY)

Students with good credit records at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Minhang campus are now enjoying more than 10 types of service, such as borrowing books, umbrellas and mobile power chargers, without needing to pay a deposit. They will also be paid in advance for part-time jobs.    

It is the result of a joint project between the university and Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba's fintech subsidiary, which was launched on Sept 15 with the aim of making the campus into the first one in China powered by the internet finance major's credit rating tool.     

Self-service machines that allow students to borrow books for up to two weeks without paying a deposit appeared at the center of the campus on Sept 15. Students who have a credit rating of 600 or more on Zhima, the credit rating system created by Ant Financial, can enjoy the service.

Users just need to select "borrowing a book" or "returning a book" on the touch screen, scan the QR code on the screen with the Alipay app on their smartphones and follow the instructions to take a book from a machine or put it back.

"Moreover, users can get connected to the library with the touch screen to search for a book they want to read and reserve it. The user will get an alert when the book is available from the machine," says Huang Yibei, a volunteer who instructed students on how to use the machines on their first day of use.

Those who don't have a high enough credit rating on Zhima will need to pay a deposit of 100 yuan (US$15), according to the instructions on the machine.

Zhima was launched in 2015. It gives users a credit rating of between 350 and 950 after analyzing their online behavior, such as online shopping and payments, their ability to pay off debts, and their social networks.

Similarly, students with good credit records can borrow umbrellas and mobile power chargers for 30 minutes without paying a deposit. Those who don't return the umbrellas will be charged 1 yuan for every 12 hours and those who don't return the chargers will be charged 1 yuan per hour.

Students with a credit rating of 600 or more on Zhima can also enjoy the convenience of paying for online education after completing it and receive their salary in advance for part-time jobs on campus, such as working in the libraries and canteens or working as home tutors for primary and middle school students through the introduction of the university.

"For example, if a student's salary per week is 1,000 yuan, the employer may pay the student 300 to 800 yuan on the first day of a week. We're also talking to employers out of school to popularize the practice," says Li Congshan, deputy general manager of Zhima.

"Such credit services are not only designed to make life more convenient for university students, but also allow them to experience the value of maintaining a good credit rating. Accumulating good credit will become a lifetime pass that will make various services accessible to them," she says.

More such credit services will be tailor-made for university students to offer them greater convenience in their studies, everyday living, internships and employment, says Li, adding that the credit services will be permanent in Shanghai Jiao Tong University and will be expanded to other universities soon.

University students gave fresh ideas on what types of credit services they would like to see for students with good credit records.

"I suggest that fresh graduates who have extraordinarily good credit records can rent an apartment without the need to pay a deposit, which is usually equivalent to one month's rent," says Xu Shuyi, a sophomore at Antai College of Economics and Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn

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