Analysis
The approval is a first regulatory step, not a green light to operate. Reuters reports that Visa must still finish preparations, apply, and win a license from the central bank and the banking regulator. If that happens, Visa would join Mastercard and American Express, which already operate card-clearing businesses in China, in a market dominated by the country's state-controlled domestic card network.
What was approved
On October 13, 2026, Visa announced that the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, approved its "Application to Prepare" for a domestic bank card clearing institution. Clearing is the behind-the-scenes process that sorts out and settles card payments between banks. Visa described the approval as an important milestone toward serving China's domestic payments market. Chief executive Ryan McInerney called it "a significant step forward in Visa's long-standing commitment to China." [1]
Reuters reported that, according to the PBOC's website, the approval was issued to a Beijing-based company that Visa set up in China as a foreign-invested enterprise. [2]
What Visa still has to do
Visa's release says it will "continue its efforts to complete the process" and take the necessary steps under PBOC regulations to begin operating domestically. It gives no timetable. [1]
Reuters reported that, according to the PBOC, Visa must complete its preparations within one year, after which it can apply to open for business. The central bank and the country's top banking regulator would review the application and, if they approve it, issue a bank card clearing business license. [2]
Where Mastercard and American Express stand
Reuters reported that Mastercard, working with a local clearinghouse, won approval to prepare a China bank card clearing business in 2020, and that American Express's joint venture in the country was cleared to start clearing later that year. Payments Dive reported that Mastercard won approval to operate in China in 2023 and that its Beijing joint venture began processing payments for cards issued by Chinese banks in 2024. [2][3]
Payments Dive noted that U.S. card companies have sought entry to China's domestic market since at least 2017 and face strong competition from China's government-backed domestic card network, which it said likely has an edge in attracting Chinese banks as card issuers. Reuters reported that bank cards in China processed 4.6 trillion transactions worth 963.60 trillion yuan in 2025, citing central bank data. [2][3]
The wider setting
Reuters said the approval follows a summit earlier this year in China between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping that included the chief executives of Visa and Mastercard. McInerney said in his statement that Visa appreciates "the important role of the leaders of the United States and China in pursuing a constructive and strategically stable relationship." Reuters described the move as a further opening of China's tightly controlled financial sector. [2]
What remains uncertain
Visa's description of the approval comes from its own release. The one-year deadline, the licensing review and the history of Mastercard's and American Express's approvals come from Reuters and Payments Dive, which describe different steps in Mastercard's process (approval to prepare in 2020; approval to operate in 2023). Whether Visa's application to operate will be approved, and when, is unknown.