On August 12th, the trending topic of “Banks Can Now Register Marriages” surged in hot searches.
The Tianjin Hexi District Civil Affairs Bureau, in cooperation with the China Postal Savings Bank’s Sishui Road Branch, officially launched the “Donghai Marriage Registration Office · Sishui Road Love Themed Bank Service Point,” becoming the first marriage registration point in the country to be housed in a bank branch.
According to a video report by Qian Jiang, on the morning of the 13th, when contacted the China Postal Savings Bank’s Sishui Road Branch, the staff stated that in the cooperative marriage registration business, the bank only provides the venue for processing, while all registration procedures and business details are handled by the Civil Affairs Bureau, with the bank not offering any additional special services.
After the above news was reported, it quickly became a hot topic. Netizens discussed various opinions.
“Somehow the bank has become a mixed bag.”
“The leader of non-normal business activities.”
“If the bank is asking you to do it, can it be a good thing?”
“It seems that there are really fewer people getting married.”
Some netizens also criticized that the bank should return to its main financial business. When citizens go to the bank to withdraw money or handle bank cards, they often need multiple complicated documents, being questioned repeatedly; while the marriage registration only requires the provision of identification to complete.
Many netizens also questioned: “Can one inquire about the other party’s bank balance and credit record?”
In response to the heated discussion among netizens about whether one can check the other party’s bank balance and credit record, the staff of the China Postal Savings Bank’s Sishui Road Branch stated that such queries follow the principle of customer authorization, and are independent of the marriage registration system.
The staff of the Tianjin Hexi District Civil Affairs Bureau stated that the cooperation with the China Postal Savings Bank’s Sishui Road Branch is limited to borrowing the bank’s venue for registration purposes, mainly based on the better environment of the venue. The registration process is carried out in accordance with the uniform standards of the Civil Affairs Bureau, with no difference from ordinary registration points. In addition, this cooperative location only opens for business half a day each Wednesday and Thursday.
In response to this, some netizens commented, “I see it now, the Civil Affairs Bureau seems idle, having time to run to a bank branch to handle marriage certificate business.”
Many netizens expressed their opinions.
“Actively squeezing frontline bank staff.”
“In a few days, they will also start handling funeral home activities, managing both happy and sad events, just not focusing on the main tasks. It’s better to reduce overtime for employees and give them more wages, rather than pandering to the crowds.”