Can’t get your hands on a Labubu? Depositing 50,000 yuan ($6,958) at a bank might get you one — for now.

In China, select branches of the Shenzhen-headquartered Ping An Bank have been offering Labubu — the wildly popular, wide-eyed and fanged gremlin-like figures — to new customers since early June. But financial regulators may soon intervene due to concerns about compliance.

According to availability, customers who deposit at least 50,000 yuan for a fixed term of three months are eligible to receive a Labubu series 1.0 or 2.0 blind box. Those who also apply for a credit card may even qualify for a Labubu 3.0 series, which was launched in April.

Labubu, usually sold in blind boxes, is the latest creation by Chinese collectibles giant Pop Mart. The toy has gone viral globally, drawing lines from Tokyo to Los Angeles and commanding resale prices that rival luxury products.

Typically sold in China at 99 yuan per toy, in-store Labubu blind boxes sell out fast. On secondhand platforms, prices vary widely, with rare “hidden” figures from the Labubu fetching over 10,000 yuan. At Beijing auction house Yongle’s spring event on Tuesday, a one-of-a-kind, mint-green first-generation Labubu sold for a staggering 1.08 million yuan.

On social media platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, users have been sharing pictures of their bank-gifted dolls as well as details on how they got them. One commenter said, “I’ve never seen so many young people at the bank before!”

A staff member at a Ping An Bank branch in Xi’an, capital of the northwestern Shaanxi province, told Sixth Tone that the dolls are still available but “might run out at any time,” adding that their stocks of the 3.0 series are nearly fully reserved before they even arrive.

Gifts to attract depositors or encourage credit card sign-ups are nothing new in China’s banking sector. However, giveaways traditionally include basic household items, such as rice, cooking oil, or small appliances.

This latest giveaway illustrates how some banks are shifting toward culturally relevant rewards tailored to younger consumers. As one social media user joked, “Every generation has its eggs to collect.”

Fueled by Labubu’s viral appeal, similar promotions have surfaced on social media from other banks, with some personal bankers allegedly using their own commissions to buy Labubu figures to lure new depositors.

The trend has raised concerns. According to regulatory guidelines, banks are prohibited from offering physical gifts or partnering with e-commerce platforms to distribute member perks. Financial regulators are reportedly reviewing the recent Labubu campaigns for potential compliance risks.

Behind the scenes, banks are facing growing pressures to attract new clients. With falling deposit interest rates, many customers are moving assets into wealth management programs or government bonds.

Deposit volume still plays an important role in performance evaluations for many bank staff, Lu Minfeng, senior researcher and professor at the Shanghai University Institute of Science and Finance, told domestic media.

“As June’s end-of-quarter assessment deadline approaches, promotions like this reflect the dual pressure banks face to meet deposit-loan ratio requirements and defend their market share,” Lu said.

Lu warned that when major banks attract customers with rare, in-demand gifts like Labubu dolls, smaller banks may be forced to follow suit with even more expensive handouts, leading to “gift competition.” This not only increases the cost of customer acquisition across the industry but could also erode healthy competition based on service quality.

Ping An Bank reported an operating revenue of 33.71 billion yuan in Q1 2025, a 13.1% year-on-year decline. Meanwhile, in light of the Labubu craze, Pop Mart’s stock has soared, rising more than tenfold since February 2024.

Editor: Tom Arnstein.

(Header image: Labubu dolls at a Pop Mart pop-up store in Beijing, May 25, 2025. VCG)