Sharing Economy in Full Swing

 Call for Credit System

A survey launched by Start Car Rental showed that only 17 percent of private car owners are willing to share their vehicles in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. They are worried that improper operation by others will damage the vehicle and are worried the rent is not enough to pay for the maintenance fees.

Mutual trust remains at the core of the sharing economy. People who do not know each other are connected through shared goods and property and they are jointly responsible to safeguard this model. How can we build trust and control the risks? It is an urgent problem that needs to be addressed.

After experiencing some cases where rented vehicles were illegally mortgaged, Start Car Rental stipulated that people who want to rent a car must meet certain requirements and the company will check the information with the police and traffic police. The leaseholders must have had a driving license for at least six months, with no record of drunk or dangerous driving, and never have had their license suspended.

Chen Chi, CEO of xiaozhu.com, pointed out that a credit environment should be established. He proposed to follow Europe and the U.S. where they established credit files for everyone. He believes that when everyone’s history can be traced, trust will be established among strangers when they conduct deals with each other.

The establishment of a credit system remains crucial for the development of the sharing economy. On April 14, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission said that efforts will be made to enable information sharing between bike-sharing companies and CreditChina.gov.cn and other credit information service departments. People will be rewarded for good behavior and punished for wrongdoing.

As early as January 2015, the People’s Bank of China asked eight credit information services companies, including Sesame Credit, Tencent Credit Services, and Qianhai Credit Services, to prepare to collect personal credit information. Today those eight companies have launched electronic data interchanges with various online shopping platforms, social platforms, car and home rental apps and financial credit apps, with the aim of building a credit information system using big data technology. It will be an unstoppable trend where the development of the sharing economy will be inextricably linked with the personal credit information system.

SHI XUN is a Chinese media veteran.