Coronavirus prompts Alibaba to suspend credit scoring system

Zhima Credit, or Sesame Credit, assigns scores to Alipay users based on their consumption and payment behavior

With people in China staying home to avoid the coronavirus, it seems like some are having trouble returning items they rented from various sharing businesses. Normally that would leave users of the Alibaba-affiliated payment app with a bad credit score, but now Alipay says it's giving users a grace period.

Alipay has told users that it's suspending Zhima Credit during the disease outbreak. The program assigns a three-digit score to users based on factors such as whether they pay their bills on time or return a rented power bank on time. Those with high scores can rent items or stay at some hotels without putting down a deposit. It might also be easier for them to take out small loans.

But Zhima Credit has made it clear that it's still keeping a record. They say that users still need to fulfill their obligations after the outbreak ends.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)

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