Chinese authorties ban banks from using Labubu dolls to lure customers

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Due to their growing popularity, banks started using Labubu dolls as an attractive tactic to draw clients into their businesses. This practice led to concerns among authorities, resulting in a ban on such actions.

In 2015, artist Kasing Lung from Hong Kong designed Labubu, a character inspired by Nordic mythology as part of his collection of creatures for a series of picture books. These unique figures can be found in mystery boxes at Pop Mart, so you won’t discover which one you purchased until it’s unboxed.

In 2024, images of them started gaining widespread attention following a photo shoot involving BlackPink’s Lisa, with Rihanna joining the trend soon afterwards. Since then, their demand has exploded, making them incredibly popular and hard to find in stock.

Due to their widespread popularity, a Chinese bank even tried to employ them as a means to persuade individuals to create an account with them. (In this context, ‘them’ refers to a specific marketing strategy or method.)

China bans banks from offering Labubu as gifts

As reported by Bloomberg, Ping An Bank in Shenzhen launched a special offer where clients who established a new account and deposited a minimum of 50,000 yuan within a span of three months received Labubu dolls as a gift.

The marketing effort spread rapidly across the Chinese social network RedNote, attracting considerable attention from individuals seeking ways to cut costs. Yet, official news outlets asserted that it wasn’t a sustainable or long-lasting solution.

In a brief timeframe, following this, the Chinese financial regulatory body, known as the National Financial Regulatory Administration, instructed local banking institutions to halt the practice of providing incentives aimed at drawing in deposits.

Not only did they prohibit Labubu, but the authorities also forbade presents such as rice, small household appliances, and subscriptions to various online services.

The latest updates are about the trending dolls called Labubu. On June 5, 2025, it emerged that collectors are now contemplating purchasing insurance for their Labubu dolls because of their escalating values and the growing incidents of theft worldwide.

In light of the fact that certain Labubus are being sold for approximately $652 USD on secondary marketplaces, it’s understandable why they feel compelled to safeguard them, as stated by Peter Klemt, the head of Australian travel insurance provider Passportcard.

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2025-06-11 23:49