Visa Wins Approval to Prepare a Bank Card Clearing Business in China
Visa can now begin formal preparations to clear domestic yuan transactions directly through its own network, with one year to complete the process, the PBOC said.
- On Tuesday, the People's Bank of China approved Visa's application to establish a locally registered bank card clearing organization, allowing the company to begin formal preparations for serving China's domestic payments market.
- Recent trade negotiations resulted in "a consensus in principle" regarding financial services, according to China's Ministry of Commerce, including approving applications from American financial institutions to establish local Chinese branches.
- Visa CEO Ryan McInerney called the approval "a significant step forward in Visa's long-standing commitment to China," noting the company has been an active contributor to the nation's payments landscape for more than 40 years.
- The PBOC granted Visa one year to complete business preparations, after which the company will settle domestic yuan transactions directly through its own network.
- Historically, domestic transactions were dominated by China's state-owned UnionPay; Visa now enters this space following competitors American Express and Mastercard, which also received clearing licenses.
33 Articles
33 Articles
Visa wins approval to prepare China domestic payments business - FINCHANNEL
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13, 2026 — Visa has received Chinese central bank approval to begin preparations for a domestic bankcard clearing business, advancing the U.S. payments company’s effort to enter China’s domestic market. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company, which trades under V, said the People’s Bank of China had approved its Application to Prepare. […]
According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, Visa Information Technology (Peking), a company incorporated in China by the U.S. multinational, will have one year to complete the preparations and request final authorization to start operations.
The American operator of the global payment system, Visa Inc., will be able to start preparing for the establishment of an organization to clear internal transactions with bank cards at the PRC.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
