On August 14, 2026, the topic that "marriage certificates can now be obtained at banks" became the No. 1 trend on China's social media Weibo.

According to Chinese media such as Economic Daily, a marriage registration outreach service counter has been officially opened inside a bank branch in Hexi District, Tianjin City. This counter introduces a new model called "integration of administration and banking." Newlyweds can learn about financial planning and various marriage-related preferential services in a "one-stop" manner simultaneously with their marriage registration. It is said to be the first marriage registration counter set up inside a bank nationwide.

In China, the number of marriages has been decreasing in recent years, and the declining birthrate has become a serious issue. According to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs on the 12th, the national marriage count in the first half of this year was 3,275,000 couples, a decrease of about 7% (264,000 couples) compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the number of divorces increased by about 4% (52,000 couples) to 1,383,000 couples.

Last year, local government civil affairs departments even set up outreach services at music festival venues to provide on-site marriage registration, showing that authorities are making every effort to increase the number of marriages.

Meanwhile, public sentiment seems to be contradictory. A Weibo blogger sarcastically commented, "Marriage certificates can now be obtained at banks. I thought it was a lie, but it's actually true. They're trying every trick in the book, pulling out all sorts of measures. From now on, will the marriage rate become a performance indicator for bank employees?"

Other netizens also posted numerous mocking comments such as: "When will they realize? People aren't getting married because they can't find the civil affairs bureau (duh)," "They're desperate to raise the marriage rate (lol)," "Will it be possible at convenience stores eventually?" "Wouldn't it be better to set up a divorce counter at banks instead?" "Next will be online applications. One person applies, the other agrees, and it's done. Real-name verification and facial recognition—will the marriage rate skyrocket?" (Translated and edited by Kitada)