In an attempt to kickstart business after the coronavirus outbreak prompted a nationwide shutdown, China's banks are using a new way to lure customers: free masks.
Whether it is signing up for an app, opening a deposit account, or purchasing wealth management products, banks in the country are offering the hottest commodity in town - masks - to get much needed new business. At China Everbright Bank, for instance, customers who link their debit or credit cards to their WeChat pay accounts and transfer 0.01 yuan ($0.0014) will be entitled to five masks.
«Everyone is very enthusiastic, it’s hot,» said Liu Huan, a person managing the offer at the bank, who was quoted in «Reuters». Last week, Zhejiang Mintai Commercial Bank said it would give masks to those aged over 50 who signed up to their app.
Still In Short Supply
Elsewhere in northern Inner Mongolia, one branch of the Bank of Wuhai has offered customers receive free masks if they sign up for fixed-term deposits of over 10,000 yuan ($1,428.78) or buy 50,000 yuan worth of wealth management products, among other offerings, a post on the lender’s WeChat account reveals.
Even though the government has declared the peak of the virus incidents has passed, masks and disinfectants are still in short supply in many parts of China. Meanwhile, many cities in China continue to bar those without masks from entering public places.
Economic activity is starting to recover slowly, after a period in which the government cut transport links and locked down cities at the end of January to slow the spread of the contagious virus. As the number of new virus cases fell, lenders are caught between the hard choice of lending to virus-stricken firms and the prospect of souring debts.
