Easing the payment problem

Students with good credit records at Shanghai Jiao Tong University can now enjoy some services, including borrowing books from machines, without paying a deposit. [Photo Zhou Wenting/China Daily]

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

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 ($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.