A new era for pawn shops in China

According to this article in China Daily Europe, pawn shops are modernizing in China. In China, you can pawn wine. That’s something American pawnbrokers haven’t gotten into.

What the article does not say is that Chinese banks are very dubious affairs. No wonder small businesses prefer the direct and simple convenience of dealing in pawn — especially when Chinese pawnbrokers will lend on real estate, cars and other goods that most American pawnbrokers would not consider.

One example from the story:

Wang Qinghong, the owner of a small company based in Tianjin that makes drinking straws, is a typical customer. Last month a supplier pushed forward the date of a down payment and Wang had to raise all the money within two days.

“At first the bank was the only lender I could think of, but it would have taken at least a week to get a loan from the bank,” Wang says.

The pawnshop, by contrast, was able to give him money in a few minutes after having verified that he owned a flat