Yu'ebao launches 'innovative' project

It can be difficult to practice charity without giving. But Yu'ebao, a popular online financial service platform in China, has made it possible for people to earn money by helping destitute college students.

The financial service, which was launched by Alipay, China's largest e-payments company, and Tianhong Asset Management, rolled out an innovative project on Sunday, which allows Yu'ebao users to give financial help to poor college students without actually giving donations.

For every user who puts 101 yuan ($16.35) into his or her account, Yu'ebao will donate 1 yuan, and its project partner, the China Youth Development Foundation, will offer 100 yuan to aid students.

The 101 yuan will stay in the donor's account and bring returns that are more than typical bank saving accounts. And Yu'ebao users can recommend college students as potential candidates for the financial aid project before Sunday.

After submitting candidate students' information, such as their scores on the national college entrance examination and their college admission notices, through Yu'ebao's mobile application, the users can help qualified candidates each receive 5,000 yuan as an educational grant.

Account-holders can check real-time information online of the entire process from the beginning of the fund raising to the moment the grant is received by students.

Tu Meng, secretary-general of the China Youth Development Foundation, said his foundation has made many efforts to make it easy for people to be involved in charitable projects.

"Through online platforms and Internet technology, we hope to lower the threshold for people to get involved in charity. By teaming up with Yu'ebao, we can reach out to a large number of young people, as they love to use apps on mobile devices," he said.

According to Tu, the major donors to the China Youth Development Foundation are middle-aged business people. "Young people may not be today's core donors, but they are expected to be a major force in charity in the future. So it is important for them to be aware of our foundation and what we do," he said.

People under the age of 30 form the bulk of account-holders, according to a press release from Alipay. The average investment amount in Yu'ebao was 4,307 yuan as of the end of June.

Hu Letian, who is in charge of the aid project at Yu'ebao, said that the company is working to bring users more value and convenience through innovation.

"We are seeking partners in every sector, including charities, to launch innovative projects with real value, which is in line with our company's goal to bring small but beautiful changes to people's everyday lives," Hu said.

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