New | Visa applies for direct access to China’s bank-card clearing market as it moves to challenge UnionPay dominance
Card payment giant becomes first overseas player to move on China, Mastercard also talking about following suit
Visa Inc has become the first overseas card payment company to apply for a bank-card clearing operation in China, reflecting growing challengers to domestic behemoth China UnionPay after deregulation.
“Visa has filed an application with the People’s Bank of China to participate in the Chinese domestic market as a bank-card clearing institution,” the US-based card payment firm said in a statement, noting its long-term commitment is to grow in China – one of the world’s fastest growing payments markets and the one that many analysts consider is now leading the way in payments innovation.
Visa expects the central bank to consider its application in line with the publicly released measures and guidelines for bank-card clearing institution applicants, it said, referring to the latest card payment guidance posted by the central bank on June 30.
Mainland China’s growing bank card market has attracted various overseas players, which had been able to cooperate with banks to issue dual currency cards in China. But they have been long barred from setting up payment clearing operations in the country.
The entry of foreign players will for sure means fiercer competition. Yet, it still an uncertainty if they can realistically challenge the dominance of UnionPay
The State Council, China’s cabinet, announced the opening-up of the card payments clearing sector to foreign players in 2015.