Changsha held the launch ceremony of its "all purpose" social security card on Dec 15 when more than 400 residents received their cards, Changsha Evening News reported.

Around three million residents in the city will be able to enjoy the convenience of the card by the end of 2014. The city is also expected to release seven million such cards by the end of 2016. Vice Mayor He Jihua attended the launch ceremony.

According to Li Jie, the head of the social security card department of Changsha Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, the ATM machines of seven designated banks are currently in the process of being upgraded so that residents with the "all purpose" cards will be able to see their social security information on the machine soon.

Meanwhile, the roughly 260 designated health care service agencies in the whole city will all be docked with the card by the end of 2015, which means that Changsha residents don’t need a bunch of medical cards or medical insurance books to get medical services.