immersion at Crédit municipal, the French institution which offers pawnbroking
In the waiting room of Crédit municipal de Paris, Aminata, her handbag full of gold jewelry, waits quietly. “These are the jewels that I received at my wedding,” confides the 54-year-old mother. If I drop them off here, I’ll get a nice chunk of money in return, because they weigh 24 carats! » An old French institution, Crédit municipal is known for its pawnbroking service. It is sometimes called by its old-fashioned name, “mont-de-piété”, which means charitable establishment. We also nickname it “at my aunt’s”, as a ruse to avoid admitting that we are going to the pawn shop.
The principle? Customers place a personal item there and receive, in exchange, a sum of money estimated at 60% of the value of the item. This pawn loan, which can be obtained without conditions and without delay, allows you to cope with hard times as well as major events in life. The interest rate is attractive: 4.25% per year. “I go to Credit when I need money to prepare for a party or a trip to the country,” explains Aminata, of Malian origin.
This regular customer leaves with peace of mind, because she will find her treasure as soon as she has saved the amount necessary to repay her loan. With around forty branches in France, the public establishment allows customers to easily rebalance their finances. These people can withdraw their property in less than a year if they pay off their debt. They can also renew their contract for an additional year. The recipe works: the item return rate is around 92%. Some very organized clients manage more than thirty contracts at the same time!