Visa, the world’s largest credit card network, has received approval from the People’s Bank of China to begin preparations to enter the mainland payments market, Interfax reports. The US company may now set up a clearing entity to process domestic card transactions, with Xinhua saying preparatory work ahead of a full‑license application must be completed within a year. According to regulators, the decision follows negotiations between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which the American leader personally advocated for the US payments firm.
Visa has been seeking access to the mainland since 2017, when state‑owned UnionPay dominated the card payments segment. Competitors Mastercard and American Express secured permissions well earlier, but the market landscape has shifted: Alipay and WeChat Pay now play the central role in daily payments. As Bloomberg noted, QR‑code mobile services have largely displaced traditional bank cards at retail tills, creating a high barrier for newcomers.
Beijing’s softer stance is a rare example of constructive diplomacy amid prolonged tariff tensions. Other global leaders have welcomed steps to normalize ties. Thus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that any positive agreement between the US and China is broadly beneficial given the outsized role of the two economies in global financial stability. Visa must now prove that the traditional card business can carve out a sustainable niche in a market dominated by Chinese mobile wallets.