Citizens in over 140 cities of 18 Chinese provinces can apply for electronic social security cards on Alipay, a mobile payment platform, as the platform is now aiming to transform itself into a public service hub.

Citizens in these regions now have online access to social security services, and they don’t have to worry even if they forget to take the physical cards.

The electronic cards are also issued by related national administrations and correspond to the physical cards. In the future, citizens will be able to pay for medical expenses with the electronic social security cards.

According to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the electronic social security cards are safe and reliable. Personal information and bank account information are needed when users apply for the cards, and facial recognition is also employed to ensure security.

When using the electronic cards, users must type the passwords of both their mobile phones and Alipay accounts, so it is highly unlikely that their cards will be falsely used by others, Alipay noted.