To help shield people from the hot sun and rain in summer, ICBC launched a pilot program of umbrella sharing in Guangzhou at the end of June. Both ICBC and non-ICBC customers could borrow an umbrella in an ICBC outlet. The service has so far been available for one month. ICBC statistics showed that the majority of borrowers, or over 95%, had returned the umbrella on time.

The service launched by ICBC in Guangzhou is easy to use and open to everyone. The instruction and service QR code are displayed in front of the Hall Manager desk, with WIFI available at the outlets to facilitate online operation. Citizens could borrow and return the umbrella simply by downloading the ICBC Link app at the outlet and following the service account. The whole process of borrowing and returning would take no more than half a minute.

The umbrella sharing requires no deposit, no charge or no password. As the threshold of “sharing” was low and the charge was exempted, the success of the project depended largely on the return of umbrella on time. For this purpose, ICBC took multiple measures. For instances, the outlet to return do not have to be the one to borrow from and citizens could borrow in any area in Guangzhou; the borrowing and returning are both assisted by outlet staff, who would remind borrowers of returning the umbrella; the system would automatically send a reminder message seven days after borrowing. Citizens accidentally losing an umbrella are allowed to borrow one more time after explaining the reason. Anyone who has more than two umbrellas  not returned could not borrow any more.

An ICBC hall manager shared several stories. Many customers dried and folded the borrowed umbrella tidily before returning. An elderly customer who carelessly lost the umbrella came to the outlet to offer compensation. “I feel so guilty,” she said, “ICBC lent me such a nice umbrella, but I didn’t take good care of it.” It was because of the mutual trust between the Bank and citizens and everyone’s care for the umbrella that shared umbrella could benefit more people.

To help citizens shield from the hot sun and rain in summer, ICBC launched a pilot program of umbrella sharing in Guangzhou at the end of June. Both ICBC and non-ICBC customers could borrow an umbrella in an ICBC outlet. So far, the service has been available for one month. ICBC statistics showed that the majority of borrowers, i.e, over 95%, had returned the umbrella on time.