Thirsty basketball players at Shanxi University can now rehydrate between games more easily after the installation of a self-service courtside water dispenser, according to Shanxi Daily.

The idea is the brainchild of Zhang Kaiyu, a senior student from Changchun University of Technology, and involves players scanning a QR code on the bottles to conveniently pay for their refreshment.

It's Zhang's first attempt at starting a business on the campus. "I wanted to cut costs and save time, while bringing convenience to students in summer," said Zhang.

However, there is a catch to his system, it relies on honesty. "I lost around 10 bottles one time, which was the worst result since I set it up on March 12 this year."

Though the odd bottle of water sometimes goes missing, Zhang is content with students' honesty and sometimes would find coins left at the dispensary to make up for any shortfall in payment.

Zhang plans to popularize this business at other universities, cooperating with students from work-study programs who can benefit and use the profits to help them complete their studies.

A customer pays for water by scanning a QR code at a self-service water stall at Shanxi University's basketball court.