Shanghai's personal credit record system has been up and running for a year, and residents can now check their own records to ensure they are correct.
Zhang Yuejing works in the human resources department at her company. She says when recruiting new employees, part of her job involves checking basic information such as criminal records. Now she can use the city's credit reports to see if potential employees have a criminal record. But she can only check the records of people who have given her a letter of authorization.
"For instance, sometimes when we want to learn more about the applicants, it is not easy for us to directly contact their current employers as the applicants don't want others to know," Zhang said.
City residents can now check their credit reports online or by visiting the credit center in person. But anyone using the online system has to pass a facial verification test to log into the system.
The system includes 3,000 categories of information, covering everything from credit history to criminal records, even for minor violations like fare jumping on the metro. They suggest people check their information to make sure it is correct.
"If you have any objection to the content of your credit records, you can visit the information center to submit a dispute report. We will check the records and give a response within 22 working days," Jin Bin with SH Information Center said.
Some people say the system should be expanded.
The platform will be expanded in the future to include credit reports about companies, and items such as the hygiene ratings at restaurants.
