Alipay brings books to their borrowers

A promotional gadget on display at the Hangzhou Library encourages people to use Alipay's credit-based book lending service.[Photo provided To China Daily]

For a tiny delivery fee, book lovers in Shanghai now can borrow as many as 20 books for a month without leaving home.

Alipay's online "Credit Public Library" will lend books online and provide delivery to the doorstep for 3 to 5 yuan ($0.44 to $0.73).

The library is a cooperative platform between libraries and Alipay.

Every user with a 600 credit rating or higher on Zhima Credit can access the library service with no deposit or membership card, and with a 30-day borrowing period free of charge.

The service was launched in Hangzhou in April in coordination with the Hangzhou Library. It expanded to Shanghai's Lujiazui Library in June. In the last two months, it has spread to Suzhou, Jiangsu province; Hefei, Anhui province; and Ningbo, Zhejiang province.

More than 1.5 million books are available, covering philosophy, religion, law, economics, culture and other fields, including best-sellers and newly published books.

Books are expected to be returned in a timely manner.

"No users have failed to return their books on time so far," said Chen Wenjin, a researcher at Ant Financial Business School.