Credit? They've got your numbers

Credit cards are confiscated by police during an operation aimed at combating financial crime in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Provided to China Daily

Big data, big changes

· Personal credit information collected by the People's Bank of China comes primarily from financial institutions. It mainly includes personal identity information, bank credit records and information on overdue debt.

· On the Internet, personal credit information can be collected 24/7. It includes data from a wealth of sources such as Internet banking, e-commerce, social networking, recruiting, matchmaking, social security and traffic and transportation use.

· Using big data, information including online spending, speed of payment to merchants and how often you return your purchases can be analyzed and become part of your credit score.

· As of June 30, 2014, the PBOC had personal credit information on 850 million individuals, far short of the entire population.