中國中產階級爲何不喜歡使用信用卡?
For the past few years, some of the top economic minds in academia and government have been fretting over the same question: How to get Chinese consumers to spend more?
過去幾年來，學術界和政界的一些最具經濟頭腦的人士一直在苦苦思考這樣一個相同的問題：如何能讓中國消費者多花些錢？Experts both in China and elsewhere agree that China's economy is dangerously imbalanced, and that what the country needs to rebalance its economy is a major increase in domestic consumption.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images中國和其他國家的專家一致認爲，中國的經濟處於危險的失衡狀態，中國恢復經濟平衡所需要的是國內消費的大幅增長。In the U.S., credit card companies helped create the middle class and the culture of consumerism. Decades ago, Americans, scarred by the memories of the Depression, were big savers. But the baby boom generation, free of the scars of the Depression - and lured by the why-wait, buy-now culture fostered by credit cards - went on buying binges.
在美國，信用卡公司曾幫助催生了中產階級和消費主義文化。幾十年前，仍對大蕭條心有餘悸的美國人也曾是儲蓄大戶。不過，嬰兒潮一代人沒有經歷過大蕭條，在信用卡催生的“爲什麼等待、現在就消費”文化的誘惑下，走上了瘋狂消費之路。
In China, the equivalent of the baby boom is the "post" 80 kids' - meaning the generation born after the deprivations of the cultural revolution. They are ready to buy more, but they don't have the means. One reason: credit-card usage is very low. About three quarters of Chinese urban middle class families have credit cards, according to a CLSA survey in 2011. But only 9% of Chinese urbanites actually plan to use the cards this year, according to a Boston Consulting Group survey in 2011.
在中國，與美國嬰兒潮一代類似的是80後，也就是文化大革命一窮二白的時期之後出生的一代人。80後願意更多地購物，但他們沒有更多購物的工具。原因之一是信用卡的使用率非常低。據里昂證券(CLSA) 2011年進行的一項調查顯示，中國城市中產階級家庭中約有四分之三有信用卡。但據波士頓諮詢公司(Boston Consulting Group)2011年進行的一項調查顯示，只有9%的中國城市家庭今年確實計劃使用信用卡消費。The surveys didn't explain the perplexing behavior. Perhaps Chinese consumers are just experimenting with credit cards, or holding them in case of emergencies.
上述兩項調查沒有說明爲何會出現這種令人費解的現象。或許中國消費者只是在開始嘗試使用信用卡，抑或持有信用卡只是爲了應急之需。One company that is trying to get Chinese buyers to become credit card users, not just holders, is Best Buy's Chinese subsidiary , Jiangsu Five Star Appliance. In Qingdao, Five Star stores have credit card application booths staffed by representatives of Bank of China and China Merchants Bank . Applicants can get 30% discounts on their card's first purchase and free kettles with Disney characters printed on them.
百思買(Best Buy)中國子公司江蘇五星電器(Jiangsu Five Star Appliance)正試圖將中國消費者轉變爲信用卡消費者，而不只是信用卡持有人。在青島，五星電器門店設有中國銀行和招商銀行信用卡申請點。申請者首次刷卡購物時可以享受七折優惠，並可獲得印有迪士尼卡通形象的免費水壺。Five Star was able to get deals with banks to offer credit cards largely in Jiangsu province, where Five Star's CEO, Nicolas Wang, has strong business relationships. Carving out similar deals with banks outside of that province has proved to be tougher, he says.
五星電器還與多家銀行達成了協議，主要在江蘇省提供信用卡服務。在江蘇，五星電器首席執行長王健有着很強的商業關係。他說，事實證明，與其它省市的銀行達成類似協議的難度更大。Will that change? Mr. Wang says he hopes so, but he hasn't seen many signs of movement.
這種局面會改變嗎？王健說，他希望會改變，但還沒有看到太多改變的跡象。
