Oct 13 (Reuters) – US payments firm Visa has received approval from China’s central bank to begin preparations for a domestic bankcard clearing institution in the country, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
• The approval comes after US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this year, which included more than a dozen CEOs of top US companies, including those of payment giants Mastercard and Visa.
• Visa was hoping to break into the Chinese market with a 100% ownership stake in a future joint venture license like rivals Mastercard and Amex, sources told Reuters at the time.
• In May, Trump told Fox News that he had pressed Chinese officials on granting Visa greater access to China’s credit card market.
• China opened its market to foreign bank companies in 2016, but required foreign service providers to set up technology and data infrastructure and backup data systems in China.
• Mastercard received approval to clear domestic yuan-denominated bankcard transactions through a joint venture with NetsUnion in 2023.
• “The approval of our Application to Prepare marks a significant step forward in Visa’s long-standing commitment to China,” Visa CEO Ryan McInerney said.
(Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
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