Faith Restored in Humanity: ICBC Bank Staff in Kunming Repair 100,000 Fragmented Banknotes for Grieving Family

Anyone who has ever attempted to solve a 1,000-piece puzzle knows that it takes an average of 4 to 12 hours to complete it. The Guinness World Records Holder in 2020, Sarah Mills, solved it in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Imagine solving a 100,000-piece puzzle with some pieces even smaller than a fingernail.

For over 20 days, four Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) bank staff in Kunming, Yunnan province, southwestern China, painstakingly pieced together 32,000 yuan, worth about US$4,500. The amount of these mutilated bills was less than the combined monthly wage of all four employees who worked on it. Every other bank that Zhang, the woman who brought the bills in, went to had turned her away because it would be a labour-intensive job that they could not afford to undertake. However, as one of the world's top 10 banks in 2024, ICBC showed everyone why they are in the lead.

Widower's Woe

Five years ago, before Zhang's sister-in-law died, she suffered severely from depression and cut up all these bills. When she passed away, leaving behind her husband (Zhang's brother) and four children who were still studying and struggling financially, this money became their only hope.

Living in a mountainous village in Sichuan province, southwest China, Zhang's brother tried asking the local banks if he could exchange the damaged notes for usable ones. However, he was turned down coldly because it was "too troublesome," even though China’s regulations stipulated that banks should exchange incomplete or stained banknotes for free.

"My brother's life is not easy, and if the money could be exchanged, it would be a big help to them. So, I decided to try my luck."

When Zhang visited her grieving brother and his children in Sichuan, he turned to her for help. Naturally, she agreed to try her luck in Kunming.

The Challenge of Repairing Mutilated Banknotes

Bringing the damaged cash back with her, an ICBC branch she reached out to immediately agreed to help repair the money. Four employees were assigned to piece the damaged notes, and their reactions were understandable.

"I've worked in this bank for more than 20 years," one employee told Jiupai News. "It was my first time seeing such a situation."

"It is the first time we have seen so many fragmented notes. There are more than 100,000 pieces with some even smaller than a fingernail."

"There are three types of currency with different patterns," one of the workers confirmed. "We were quite confused at first.”

To assist the four employees with the difficult task, magnifiers were used to help them identify the broken notes. After 22 days of work, the spliced bank notes totalled 32,000 yuan and were exchanged for new notes. It could not have been easy, but nobody gave up. Their hardworking attitudes and compassionate hearts won over netizens in China.

Netizens React to Humanity in Banking

"Thumbs up for the bank. They are so compassionate towards ordinary people," one person said on Douyin, a popular Chinese Social media app with over 700 million users.

Another commented on how diligent the bank staff were, expressing concern for their mental health jokingly after that they "might get depressed after dealing with so many damaged notes.”

Equally touched by the kindness of ICBC employees, Zhang sent a specially customised silk banner with the following quote to thank them for their assistance.

"Take people's difficulties into consideration, solve problems and warm hearts."

Although this amount of recovered money would not help Zhang's brother and his children forever, the act of kindness will always be remembered. Not all heroes wear capes. Some might just be your regular bank employee with an exceptionally big heart.