ABSTRACT

This study assesses the impacts of acquiring a credit card offered by a non-financial company in Colombia. The card, which is mainly targeted at low-income and unbanked individuals, can be used to fund home improvements and purchase home and personal goods in selected stores. We find that access to the credit card fostered financial inclusion and improved households’ standard of living and well-being. Beneficiaries were more likely to obtain financing through credit cards and increased their total debt and expenses in credit repayments while reducing the likelihood of borrowing from informal credit sources. However, we find no effect on accessing credit from the traditional financial sector. Acquiring the card also increased the likelihood of making key home improvements and purchasing certain expensive time-saving durables. Finally, the household’s saving capacity increased, which signals an improvement in economic well-being and shows that the debt repayment is manageable.

摘要

这项研究评估了获得哥伦比亚一家非金融公司提供的信用卡的影响。该卡主要针对低收入和没有银行账户的人，可用于资助房屋装修以及在选定的商店中购买房屋和个人物品。我们发现，使用信用卡可以促进金融普惠，并改善家庭的生活水平和福祉。受益人更有可能通过信用卡获得融资，并增加了他们的债务总额和信用偿还支出，同时减少了从非正规信贷来源借款的可能性。但是，我们发现这对从传统金融部门获得信贷没有影响。购买该卡还增加了进行关键的家居装修和购买某些昂贵的省时耐用物的可能性。最后，