Chinese lenders analyze your bill-paying history, plus your social media

In China, your online life can become part of your credit profile. Lending platform China Rapid Finance has used data on the frequency of instant messaging, the number of online friends, and even gaming habits to pre-approve millions of borrowers. WeLab gives borrowers in Hong Kong a discount of 5% on the cost of a loan for connecting their Facebook accounts and a 10% break for LinkedIn. With relatively few Chinese using traditional lenders like banks, there’s a big potential market for new kinds of credit.