Digital Riba and Algorithmic Finance: Challenges of Digitized Usury in China’s Integrated Payment Landscape

Öz

This paper explores the concept of “Digital Riba,” defined as the digitization and algorithmic amplification of usurious lending practices, within China’s deeply integrated, platform-based financial ecosystem. It argues that the fusion of widespread mobile payment systems, advanced big data analytics, and artificial intelligence has not merely expanded access to credit but fundamentally reshaped its structure. In platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, financial services are seamlessly embedded into everyday consumption and social interaction, blurring the boundary between ordinary transactions and debt acquisition. This normalization of borrowing is further intensified by AI-driven personalization, which enables lenders to identify and target individuals’ financial vulnerabilities with unprecedented precision and efficiency, raising concerns about predatory lending practices. The study highlights a growing mismatch between traditional regulatory approaches and the evolving nature of digital finance. Existing frameworks, which primarily rely on fixed interest rate caps to define and control usury, are increasingly inadequate in addressing the dynamic, opaque, and data-driven mechanisms of algorithmic lending. As a result, the paper calls for a paradigm shift in financial governance. Rather than focusing solely on interest regulation, policymakers must consider broader issues such as algorithmic transparency, fairness, data ownership, and the ethical design of digital financial ecosystems. By examining the Chinese case, the paper provides valuable insights into the global regulatory challenges posed by platform capitalism and AI-driven finance, emphasizing the need for more holistic and adaptive policy responses.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Artificial Intelligence
• Digital Riba
• China
• Digital Integration.

Dijital Riba ve Algoritmik Finans: Çin'in Entegre Ödeme Ortamında Dijitalleştirilmiş Tefeciliğin Zorlukları

Öz

Bu makale, Çin’in derinlemesine entegre, platform tabanlı finansal ekosistemi bağlamında, tefecilik niteliğindeki kredi uygulamalarının dijitalleşmesi ve algoritmik olarak güçlendirilmesi olarak tanımlanan “Dijital Riba” kavramını incelemektedir. Makale, yaygın mobil ödeme sistemleri, gelişmiş büyük veri analitiği ve yapay zekanın birleşiminin, krediye erişimi sadece genişletmekle kalmayıp, kredinin yapısını da temelden yeniden şekillendirdiğini savunmaktadır. Alipay ve WeChat Pay gibi platformlarda, finansal hizmetler günlük tüketim ve sosyal etkileşime sorunsuz bir şekilde entegre edilmiştir ve bu da sıradan işlemler ile borçlanma arasındaki sınırı bulanıklaştırmaktadır. Borçlanmanın bu normalleşmesi, yapay zeka odaklı kişiselleştirme ile daha da yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bu kişiselleştirme, kredi verenlerin bireylerin finansal zayıflıklarını benzeri görülmemiş bir hassasiyet ve verimlilikle tespit etmelerine ve hedeflemelerine olanak tanıyarak, sömürücü kredi uygulamaları konusunda endişeleri artırmaktadır. Çalışma, geleneksel düzenleme yaklaşımları ile dijital finansın değişen doğası arasındaki artan uyumsuzluğu vurgulamaktadır. Tefeciliği tanımlamak ve kontrol etmek için esas olarak sabit faiz oranı sınırlarına dayanan mevcut çerçeveler, algoritmik kredilendirmenin dinamik, şeffaf olmayan ve veriye dayalı mekanizmalarını ele almakta giderek yetersiz kalmaktadır. Sonuç olarak, makale finansal yönetişimde bir paradigma değişikliği çağrısında bulunuyor. Politika yapıcılar, yalnızca faiz düzenlemelerine odaklanmak yerine, algoritmik şeffaflık, adalet, veri sahipliği ve dijital finansal ekosistemlerin etik tasarımı gibi daha geniş kapsamlı konuları dikkate almalıdır. Makale, Çin örneğini inceleyerek, platform kapitalizmi ve yapay zeka odaklı finansın yarattığı küresel düzenleme zorluklarına ilişkin değerli içgörüler sunuyor ve daha bütüncül ve uyarlanabilir politika tepkilerinin gerekliliğini vurguluyor.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yapay Zeka
• Dijital Riba
• Çin
• Dijital Entegrasyon.

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