On Thursday, Tianjin municipal government signed a cooperation agreement with China's major e-payment provider Ant Financial, part of the Alibaba Group, to turn Tianjin into a "cashless city".

A cashless city refers to a modern urban lifestyle in which digital payments replace cash. In a cashless city, people will only need a smartphone instead of notes and coins to make purchases.

Ant Financial will promote mobile payments, and Tianjin University of Commerce and Tianjin University of Finance and Economics will build the first "no cash campus".

Tianjin is the third Chinese city that has announced plans to go cashless.

Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, met with Tianjin government leaders before the World Intelligence Congress, held in Tianjin from Thursday to Friday, to finalize this cooperation intention.

Ma said he hopes the construction of cashless Tianjin will help Alibaba become deeply involved in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and he expects the company to help Tianjin become a significant driver of China's digital economy.