Tuesday, August 30, 2011

When they don't understand credit

We offer micro-credit to China's front line workers through an employee benefits program that includes a payroll advance and discount card. Because of the workers' lack of collateral, banks will never give them a loan otherwise.

But somehow many of them don't see the entrepreneurial opportunities inherent in a loan like this. They also don't understand how building up a good credit history can open up future possibilities. Instead, they focus on the fact that our discounts aren't attractive enough. One girl asked me what a credit card was. Another group of four shook their heads and told me that they wouldn't be able to use their cards because the supermarkets near them didn't have POS machines. When I told them that they could swipe their cards at any store with a POS machine, they were shocked.

Over the last two months, I've talked to many blue collar workers and realized that many of them didn't even understand the concept of credit. After I explained it to one of the girls at the massage parlor, who had quit a factory down south several years ago, she looked at me and told me that if we offered her credit now, she would definitely take it. But back then, back when she was a factory girl? She wouldn't dare to want it. Because something like that didn't happen to people like her.

We've brought the horse to the water, but how do you make the horse drink?

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p. s. A colleague told me that I looked like a really cute head of lettuce today (I was wearing a flowy green dress). He also told me that he really liked lettuce. I think he might have been hitting on me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

easiest way to share with others what your company is all about...marketing through short films...even factory workers must have computers or ipods...podcasts, youtube type media sharing would be helpful

Chelsea said...

That is a hard situation! It must be so foreign to them! Hope you find a way to make them understand :D. It's probably hard for them to trust that people really want to help them after all that they have been through.

Emma McPanda Imported from China said...

no wonder you feel passionate about your job, i guess those people do need lots of education on that. i like this idea and spiritually support what you do. i might want to work for some company like that later, just to help people. your companies are opening lots of doors for them.

jia you!

Emma McPanda Imported from China said...

by the way, using credits is kinda like borrowing money , which is against traditional chinese personal finance theory.....just fyi
chinese people are fans of saving money.