Visa scores key win in China Visa gets green light to set up domestic bankcard clearing venture Visa scored a big regulatory win in China as it obtained approval to start a process to set up a domestic bankcard clearing business in the country, a significant milestone in its ongoing push to open one of the world’s largest payments markets.
China’s central bank, the PBOC, announced the green light Oct. 13 2026 clearing the way for Visa to start establishing a domestic bankcard clearing organization. That paves the way for the company to handle local card transactions more locally in China, rather than through its existing network of card transaction endpoints outside the country.
But that approval isn’t enough for it to start operating back home. It will still have to go through the necessary preparations and gain a different licence.
No other market offers such a massive opportunity for global payment firms as China, due to the size of the country’s banking and digital payments ecosystem. But access to the domestic bankcard clearing market has proved elusive for foreign networks.
CUP, the nationwide credit card scheme backed by the Chinese government, has traditionally reigned in home-card payments. In the meantime, online digital payments like Alipay and WeChat Pay are an everyday part of life, used for everything from retail to online transactions to restaurant bills.
Visa has operated in China for more than four decades, but international card processing and domestic payment clearing are different activities. The newly granted approval could allow the company to establish a local infrastructure for processing eligible domestic transactions in Chinese yuan, subject to regulatory authorisation.
It is required that Visa is ready within one year, based on the People’s Bank of China. Then it will be able to apply to Chinese authorities to start working, subject to further supervision.
Visa’s plan for a domestic business may also give it a direct role in China’s payment infrastructure. The company has long sought entry to this market, which involves, regulatory, hurdles, and battles with long-time domestic providers.
The approval this time comes amid wider debate on efforts to increase access to the Chinese market by American businesses. Visa CEO Ryan McInerney called the move a ‘big step’ in the company’s continuing support of the Chinese market and stressed the need for a ‘positive’ US-China relationship.
The firm says it plans to fulfill the remaining regulatory requirements before launching domestic bankcard clearing. But whether it will ultimately be granted access and on what terms is still unknown.
This approval marks a milestone as Visa has applied for a wholly owned domestic entity instead of a joint venture. The ultimate structure and extent of activities will be subject to the relevant regulatory process.
Visa is not the first US payments company to apply for a domestic card clearing license in China. Mastercard was granted a license for establishing a domestic clearing business with local clearinghouse, NetsUnion Clearing, and American Express was granted approval for its Chinese JV in 2020.
