Financial markets/ Financial institutions :Pawnshops

Overview
Pawnshops are small-scale financial institutions in local communities. They are involved with the local population, particularly the poor, who do not have sufficient collateral to qualify for loans from larger financial institutions. They are sometimes referred to as banks for the poor. Government and private pawnshops follow the same standard practices:

1) The pledge, or item given as collateral, must be ordinary, non-registered, moveable property with a value ranging from 50 THB (1.50 USD) to 10,000 THB (294 USD).
2) Public property and individually registered items are not accepted as pledges.
3) Stolen objects are not accepted as pledges.
4) Pledges are not accepted from Monks and novices.
5) Pledges are not accepted from children under 18 years of age.
6) Other types business and sales of unredeemed items are not conducted on pawnshop premises.
7) Details concerning accepting pledges, calculating interest and specifying the duration of the loan vary with the type of pawnshop.