Following the requirement of presenting “ID card, household registration book or property certificate” when applying for a bank card, recently, in cities like Nanchang, Jiangxi, there has been additional verification for obtaining a phone card, requiring a criminal-free certificate, bank transaction records, some even asking for a deposit of 500-1000 yuan, providing personal property certificates or business licenses. When the news broke, netizens were immediately outraged. Some couldn’t help but lament that without a job, they couldn’t even make phone calls anymore.
According to a report by The Paper on October 3rd, under the pretext of “applying for a new phone card with an out-of-town ID,” reporters from ten business halls of China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom in Jiangxi, Fujian, Gansu, Heilongjiang and other regions conducted phone tests and found significant differences in the card application standards in each region, with Jiangxi in particular raising the bar significantly.
Staff at a China Mobile offline business hall in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, mentioned that for out-of-town ID applications, individuals need to provide work certificates, business licenses, any one of property certificates, or rental contracts, and also need to make a 500 yuan deposit.
According to the staff, this measure aims to raise the card application threshold, prevent telecommunications network fraud, avoid mobile individuals engaging in crimes after obtaining cards, and this requirement is not unique to Jingdezhen. Other cities in Jiangxi also have strict standards for out-of-town card applications, with China Unicom and China Telecom implementing the same criteria based on relevant regulations.
Another staff member at a China Telecom offline business hall in Jingdezhen stated that for out-of-town ID applications, individuals only need to bring their ID card without requiring work certificates, criminal-free certificates, or additional materials, but regardless of the chosen plan, a 500 yuan deposit is necessary, with similar deposit requirements for out-of-town ID applications at local China Unicom and China Mobile.
Staff at a China Unicom offline business hall in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, mentioned that for out-of-town ID applications, individuals need to provide work certificates, business licenses, or any one of residence certificates, and a minimum of 100 yuan in prepaid phone credits is required for the application.
Staff at a China Telecom offline business hall in Jiujiang stated that the minimum deposit for out-of-town ID applications should not be less than 1000 yuan.
It is understood that even for local residents in some parts of Jiangxi, obtaining a phone card at a telecommunications business hall requires providing work certificates, social security certificates, criminal records certificates, bank transaction records, among others, only with lower phone fee deposits.
The news sparked heated discussions online. Netizens expressed their opinions, “What about the over 15,000 phone cards seized by customs recently? Were these conditions required to be presented?” “Check who owns the virtual numbers? They don’t prioritize actual issues, it’s a joke.” “In Jiangxi, even if you stop using the phone for two months, you still need to provide a criminal-free certificate.” “But for fraud groups, they don’t need it, they don’t even require real-name registration.”
“They not only make it difficult for ordinary people but also bear an inescapable responsibility for telecom fraud!” “The three major operators are part of the profit chain.”
Netizens sighed, “Without a job, a bank card, phone cards cannot be issued at all.” “If foreign telecommunications companies come to China now, I would switch immediately.”