Throughout China, the government collaborates with commercial banks to deploy an innovative social security card project.
Throughout China, the government collaborates with commercial banks to deploy an innovative social security card project. In the province of Yunnan, the social security department and the Agricultural Bank of China jointly issue a combined financial / social security card, aimed at providing convenient and better access to social services for all of its citizens. The cards are instantly and securely issued with
Evolis printing systems.
Yunnan has over 45 million inhabitants of which the rural population accounts for 63.2%. As the social security departments are located in big towns, it is very inconvenient for people living in remote areas to obtain their social security card. In the past this was the only way to obtain the card and insure eligibility for the social services associated with it.
150 bank branches across the province provide cards for all citizens
As banks have high security measures and the issuance of payment cards is their traditional business, it was a logical step for the government to entrust them with the issuance of the multi-functional card. All 150 branches of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) spread across the Yunnan province are able to issue a multi-application card offering medical and pension insurance, as well as banking-related functions such as cash withdrawal or money transfer within a few minutes. "Our clients are very satisfied having several services combined into one card," comments Mr. Lin, ABC Yunnan Branch.
Customized card printing system developed for this project
In Feburary, 2018, Boya Wuzhou Technology Co. Ltd., the Evolis partner for the banking and government market in China, deployed
150 BY-W3 card personalization systems developed by Evolis especially for this project. The company also integrated the Evolis printers into the bank’s IT system.
In addition to personalized color printing on the card surface, BY-W3 also encodes personal information into the social security card’s IC chip, thereby providing additional security to the card. If the card is lost or damaged, the BY-W3 printing systems installed at ABC branches can be used to instantly reissue and replace the cards. Each citizen’s financial/social security card contains personal social security information, such as name, photo, gender, ethnicity, social security number and card expiration date, which are printed on the card by the printer.
"The financial/social security card project is progressing smoothly. Beijing Boya and Evolis’ engineers promptly solve any problems that may arise. The BY-W3 printer is an aesthetically designed product. Its dimensions are perfect for use in a bank branch, and the printing quality perfectly meets card issuance requirements. The real-time utilization rate of the devices at each bank branch exceeds 86%. " - Mr. Lin, Yunnan Branch, Agricultural Bank of China