Visa has won approval from China’s central bank to set up a bank card clearing business, a step towards serving the domestic payments market after more than 40 years in the country.
01Summary
- 01Visa said on Tuesday it had received approval from the People’s Bank of China to set up a bank card clearing business in China.
- 02Visa has worked with Chinese banks for more than 40 years and said it is taking steps to begin operating domestically under PBOC rules.
- 03The approval comes before the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Shenzhen next month, where Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are expected to meet again.
- 04Visa applied to the PBOC in May 2020 to operate a bank card clearing institution, after years of working on dual-branded cards in China.
- 05Rival Mastercard began processing payments in China in 2024 after PBOC approval in February 2020, while American Express got its processing licence in June 2020.
02Why it matters
The move could open a larger domestic payments opportunity for Visa in the world’s second-biggest economy. It also signals some progress for foreign financial firms in China’s tightly controlled financial sector.
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