---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Credit is a system whereby a person who…"
description: "\"Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay\" — Charles Dickens"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg"
---

#  Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets…

![“Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg)

> “Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay”

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Credit creates a chain of unpaid obligations, linking those unable to pay with others who also cannot.

**In simple terms:** Credit links debtors who can't pay each other.

Key Takeaway

Understand systemic risk in lending.

Themes

economics finance risk social responsibility systemic failure

Mood

concerned analytical

Type

economic critical

When to use this quote

- banking
- personal loans
- policy making

Key Concepts

Debt contagion moral hazard financial stability

Questions to Reflect On

- What safeguards prevent cascading defaults?
- How does credit affect social inequality?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex financial systems.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/)

## Related quotes

> [Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who-can-not-pay-gets-another/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [A person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay. Like a person with two wooden legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-person-who-can-t-pay-gets-another-person-who-can-t-pay-to-guarantee/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I don't mind dying if I have to, but I'm damned if I want to pay for the guarantee. I'm sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-landon/i-don-t-mind-dying-if-i-have-to-but-i-m-damned-if-i-want-to-pay-for/)

[Michael Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-landon/)

> [Time was when the average person could pay as he goes. Nowadays he has to pay as he comes and goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-aloysius-battista/time-was-when-the-average-person-could-pay-as-he-goes-nowadays-he-has/)

[Orlando Aloysius Battista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-aloysius-battista/)

> [It gets you nowhere if the other person's tail is only just in sight for the second half of the conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/it-gets-you-nowhere-if-the-other-person-s-tail-is-only-just-in-sight/)

[A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/)

> [Everybody kind of gets to be the person they didn't get to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/everybody-kind-of-gets-to-be-the-person-they-didn-t-get-to-be/)

[Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/)

> [No matter how serious Life gets,I still have that one person I can be completely StuPiD with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destinydreams/no-matter-how-serious-life-gets-i-still-have-that-one-person-i-can-be/)

[DestinyDreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destinydreams/)

> [No pecuniary consideration is more urgent, than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt: on none can delay be more injurious, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/no-pecuniary-consideration-is-more-urgent-than-the-regular-redemption/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [If the US Government was a family—they would be making $58,000 a year, spending $75,000 a year, &amp; are $327,000 in credit card debt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/if-the-us-government-was-a-family-they-would-be-making-58-000-a-year/)

[Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/)

> [Debt, we've learned, is the match that lights the fire of every crisis. Every crisis has its own set of villains - pick your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ross-sorkin/debt-we-ve-learned-is-the-match-that-lights-the-fire-of-every-crisis/)

[Andrew Ross Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ross-sorkin/)

> [There's also consumer debt, the credit card debt that burdens many of the working families in America. Yes, we talk about national debt, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-s-also-consumer-debt-the-credit-card-debt-that-burdens-many-of/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [In January we start saving money, getting out of credit card debt, funding our retirement accounts, and we're doing wonderful. Then, every single year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/in-january-we-start-saving-money-getting-out-of-credit-card-debt/)

[Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/)

> [There's more student debt than credit card debt! Everywhere I go, I run into young people trying to build careers while they keep shelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/there-s-more-student-debt-than-credit-card-debt-everywhere-i-go-i-run/)

[Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/)

> [When you take a look at the problems our country is facing, debt is No. 1. The math is downright scary and the credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/when-you-take-a-look-at-the-problems-our-country-is-facing-debt-is-no/)

[Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/)

> [“An honest man is a debtless man, he doesn't owe anyone anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-honest-man-is-a-debtless-man-he-doesn-t-owe-anyone-anything/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

## More by Charles Dickens

> [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

[Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## More Credit quotes

> [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/)

[Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/)

> [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/)

[Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/)

> [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/)

[Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/)

> [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [I am a millionaire today and my wife deserves all of the credit. Before I met her I was a multi-millionaire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-chi-rodriguez/i-am-a-millionaire-today-and-my-wife-deserves-all-of-the-credit/)

[Chi Chi Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-chi-rodriguez/)

> [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/)

[Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/)

> [Loyal people don't get enough credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/loyal-people-don-t-get-enough-credit/)

[Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/)

> [“An honest man is a debtless man, he doesn't owe anyone anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-honest-man-is-a-debtless-man-he-doesn-t-owe-anyone-anything/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [Never threaten, because a threat is a promise to pay that it isn't always convenient to meet, but if you don't make it good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-horace-lorimer/never-threaten-because-a-threat-is-a-promise-to-pay-that-it-isn-t/)

[George Horace Lorimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-horace-lorimer/)

> [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [Your goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/your-goal-should-be-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-bills-in-full-at-the/)

[Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/)

> [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/)

[Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/)

> [I don't want to live off the credit of taking fights. I want to life off the credit of beating the best guys in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hooker/i-don-t-want-to-live-off-the-credit-of-taking-fights-i-want-to-life/)

[Dan Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hooker/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I never bothered about keeping track.Every now and then someone records one of my songs, and I get credit for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mose-allison/i-never-bothered-about-keeping-track-every-now-and-then-someone/)

[Mose Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mose-allison/)

[Browse all 2,736 Credit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Dickens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who-can-t-pay-gets-another-person/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Credit"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who-can-t-pay-gets-another-person/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/charles-dickens-34_credit_credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who_184024.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Credit is a system whereby a person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can…” — Charles Dickens",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Charles Dickens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Credit is a system whereby a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who-can-t-pay-gets-another-person/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/credit-is-a-system-whereby-a-person-who-can-t-pay-gets-another-person/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
