“Financial Dandelion” to Spread Seeds of Financial Knowledge across the Country 

BEIJING, December 12^th – Recently, Home Credit Consumer Finance Company (“Home Credit”) kicked off its new financial literacy campaign themed “Financial Dandelion” in Beijing, China. In the coming year, a total of twelve events will be organized in different regions across the country, with an aim to bring people together and spread the seeds of financial knowledge. This marks a new phase of Home Credit’s investment and efforts in improving public financial literacy and building financial inclusiveness in China.

The first event of “Financial Dandelion” campaign was held in a community in Beijing, where the residents were mainly elderly people who lack systematic financial knowledge and have very limited understanding of risk management and financial fraud. During the event, a financial expert from Home Credit delivered a lecture about basic financial knowledge, the importance of credit records, risk management, etc. And an interactive session was set to make a deeper impression. The event has attracted nearly one hundred residents to participate, and very positive feedbacks have been received from the participants. After Beijing event, the series of “Financial Dandelion” events stopped by Zhangjiakou city of Hebei province and Yulin city of Shaanxi province, bringing modern finance knowledge to groups including rural residents and financial professionals at the grass-roots level and so on.

As a leading consumer finance company, Home Credit believes that building a healthy environment together with consumers who are well equipped with financial knowledge is critical for both consumer finance companies and the whole industry’s sustainable growth. For years, the company has been devoted to promoting financial literacy and enhancing public awareness of scientific financial planning, credit record maintenance and responsible lending by organizing a number of seminars and activities in communities, elementary schools and universities across China. To actively respond to the call from Chinese regulator to spread basic financial knowledge to a larger population, in September 2017, Home Credit held a series of activities in Tianjin during the “month of promoting financial literacy”, where its China headquarter is located. In late 2017, Home Credit initiated the “Financial Dandelion” campaign to further advance its efforts to promoting financial literacy and practicing inclusive finance in China in a more systematic and focused way. With upgraded resources, the “Financial Dandelion” campaign would land in tier three and four cities and even towns and villages in various forms while targeting different groups of people, and the video records of the lectures given during the campaign would be spread to the rural areas nationwide by satellite transmission.

Home Credit also understands that promoting financial literacy requires joint efforts. In May 2017, Home Credit and China Foundation for Development of Financial Education jointly kicked off the “Jinhui” Rural Financial Education Project at Lvliang Mountains Contiguous Undeveloped Areas in China to help improve the basic financial know-how of the locals as well as the capability of the financial professionals at grass-roots level.

Mr. Ondrej Frydrych, CEO of Home Credit China, says: “Around 70% of our customers are first-time borrowers with very limited financial knowledge. According to our years’ communication with them, we deeply understand the significance of promoting financial literacy. For the long term, Home Credit will spare no efforts and continue to invest in building financial inclusiveness, not only by providing accessible consumer finance products and services but also by educating the target groups of people about how they could use and manage such financial offerings scientifically. Also, we are looking forward to working with other industry players and organizations to bring inclusive finance in China to a new stage. This is a way that the customers, partners, communities and the country can benefit from.”

Home Credit promotes financial literacy among different groups of people with varied specific focuses. For community residents, blue collars and farmers in second- and third-tier cities and villages, Home Credit help them to make rational decisions and protect themselves from frauds when choosing financial products and services. For college students, Home Credit motivates them to develop the capability of independent thinking and avoid impulse spending when facing risky financial services. For young kids, Home Credit holds interactive financial classes like “simulated supermarket” in elementary schools to help them develop a healthy consumption habit.