College students banned from credit card applications

BEIJING, July 22 -- Many college students applying for credit cards are feeling the pinch as bankers take more prudent steps when issuing them the cards.

Zhong Xiangqun is director of the personal finance department at the Bank of China.

"We have lowered the line of credit for students. It is a fairly low limit in the industry, so we can keep risks under control."

In the past, it was very easy for college students to get a credit card. Banks came onto campuses to promote their credit cards by giving free gifts to attract students.

Yi Ye is one college student with several credit cards in her wallet.

"A woman knocked on our door in the dormitory to promote credit cards when I was a sophomore, so I applied for one. But I didn't understand how they worked. I thought I could overdraw the credit card every month, but actually it doesn't work that way."

Yi says the credit card let her shop conveniently online, although her expenses quickly increased.

"I think the credit card has been very handy for me to shop online. What I do is just go to the bank every month to pay it off to meet the balance. But indeed, I kind of overspend money sometimes without consciousness."