Smart ID will feature free e-Certs to drum up support

To drum up support for next year's introduction of smart identity cards, the government will offer free digital certificates for the first year.

Hong Kong's smart ID cards contain an option to store the e-Cert digital certificates. Card holders can use them for e-banking and other activities requiring digital authentication.

According to Michael Chung Man-kit, Hongkong Post's director of products development and marketing, people can choose whether to have the e-Certs embedded in their Smart ID cards.

'We will have counters at the Immigration Department. When people are applying for new ID cards, they can just go to our counter nearby and tell us they want the e-Certs,' said Mr Chung. 'They do not need to fill in extra forms and it is free,' he said. 'The e-Cert will then be loaded on to the card at the time of issue.'

Hongkong Post, an official certification authority (CA) under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, launched the e-Cert as the SAR's first mobile digital certification service in January 2000.

Under the ordinance, a digital signature supported by an e-Cert enjoys the same legal status as a handwritten signature.