China approves visa subsidiary application to establish bank card clearing institution

China's central bank announced on Tuesday that it has approved an application from a subsidiary of U.S. payment giant Visa to set up a bank card clearing institution in China, a step forward in the country's financial opening up.

Visa Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd. is required to complete its preparations within a year, after which it can apply to commence operations, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said.

The bank card clearing business license will be issued after the PBOC and the National Financial Regulatory Administration jointly approve the application.

Under current regulations, once it is approved to commence operations, Visa will be able to provide clearing services and issue bank cards denominated in renminbi (RMB). The company is currently permitted to provide such services in China only in foreign currencies.

The entry of major global bank card clearing institutions into the Chinese market is conducive to promoting diversified and multi-tiered development of China's bank card clearing market and enriching domestic payment services, said Yang Tao, director of the National Institution for Finance and Development under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Visa has accumulated years of experience in cross-border payment, which helps optimize the operating environment of foreign cards, improve the payment experience of foreign travelers to China, and promote cultural exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between China and foreign countries, said Yang.

Globally, bank cards remain one of the mainstream non-cash payment tools. By the end of 2025, the number of bank cards in circulation under major global brands exceeded 19 billion.

"Consumers will not immediately feel the changes at present. It will still take time for Visa to complete preparations, submit an application for opening and get approval. As mobile payment has become very popular in China, bank card business is migrating from physical cards to contactless and cardless payments, and barcode payment has also gained deep popularity. Visa is entering a mature and highly competitive market," said Tian Lihui, a finance professor at the Nankai University.

China approves visa subsidiary application to establish bank card clearing institution

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Botswana's President Duma Gideon Boko in Beijing on Thursday to discuss relations between their two countries.

At the meeting, Li said China and Botswana enjoy long-standing and profound friendship, recalling that Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Boko on Tuesday, drawing up a new blueprint for deepening bilateral relations.

China is willing to work with Botswana to follow the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, further consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen mutual support, deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, enhance cooperation in mining, digital, green and cultural fields, and jointly promote development and rejuvenation, Li said.

China is also willing to closely unite and collaborate with African countries to implement the outcomes of the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and inject more impetus into the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future, the Chinese premier said. For his part, Boko said Botswana firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to make good use of the zero-tariff treatment offered by China to expand practical cooperation in various fields such as trade.

Botswana supports the four major global initiatives proposed by Xi -- the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) -- and is willing to have close multilateral collaboration with China, Boko said.

At the invitation of Xi, Boko is on a state visit to China from Oct 12 to 17.

Chinese premier meets Botswana's president on relations