The largest American payment system was allowed to enter the Chinese market

The largest American and global payment system, Visa, has received permission from the People's Bank of China to prepare to enter the domestic market of the People's Republic of China. Interfax writes about this with reference to the company’s message.

It is noted that Visa will now be able to begin preparing to create an organization for clearing domestic transactions with bank cards in China. According to Xinhua, preparatory work before applying for a license must be completed within a year.

The Chinese regulator gave the green light to Visa following talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May and September. Visa Chief Executive Officer Ryan McEnery accompanied the United States leader on a trip to Beijing, who raised the issue of the company's entry into mainland China during the meeting.

Beijing allowed Visa's competitors, Mastercard and American Express, to enter the domestic market several years ago. The company itself has been seeking the appropriate permission since 2017, when the state-owned UnionPay was a monopolist there.

While the approval was a major milestone, Visa is entering a market that is significantly different from what it was back then, Bloomberg said, noting that China's payments ecosystem is now dominated by Alipay and WeChat Pay, which have "largely bypassed traditional card networks to become the primary channels for everyday payments."