China Approves Visa Subsidiary to Prepare for Bank Card Clearing Operations

Dragon Media News Desk

China’s central bank has approved an application by a subsidiary of US payments company Visa to prepare to establish a bank card clearing institution in the country, marking another step in the opening of China’s financial sector.

Visa Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. must complete its preparations within one year, after which it may apply to begin operations, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said. The business licence will be issued only after the PBOC and the National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly approve the application.

The approval reflects China’s commitment and confidence in advancing high-standard opening up, said Zhou Zhen, an associate professor at Tsinghua University’s PBC School of Finance. Bank card clearing institutions play a foundational role in payment systems by connecting card issuers and acquiring institutions and extending payment networks to cardholders and merchants, he said.

Bank cards remain a major means of non-cash payment worldwide. By the end of 2025, more than 19 billion bank cards were in circulation under major global brands.

Visa CEO Ryan McInerney called the approval a significant step in the company’s long-standing commitment to China. He said Visa had contributed to the country’s payments sector for more than 40 years.

Under current regulations, once authorised to begin operations, Visa will be able to clear transactions in Chinese yuan and issue yuan-denominated bank cards. The company is currently permitted to provide such services in China only in foreign currencies.

PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng met with McInerney on May 15 to discuss China–US economic and trade relations and Visa’s development in China.

China has previously approved US payment companies American Express and Mastercard to process domestic yuan transactions. American Express received approval in 2018 to establish a clearing institution through its Chinese joint venture, Express (Hangzhou) Technology Service Co. It began operations in 2020, becoming China’s first foreign-funded bank card clearing institution. Mastercard received approval in 2020 and began operations in 2024.

The entry of major global card clearing companies can help diversify China’s bank card clearing market, expand domestic payment services and build a more comprehensive and efficient payment system, Zhou said.