China: Visa, MasterCard get good news from government

China announced Wednesday that it is looking to open its market to domestic bank card transactions, a plan that reports say will benefit credit card giants Visa and MasterCard.

According to reports, China has been urged to overhaul its electronic payments industry after a report by the World Trade Organization found that the industry discriminated against US firms in 2012.

But China’s State Council announced Wednesday that any foreign firms that meet the necessary standards to launch companies would be welcome. The announcement was vague, however, as reports noted that officials did not specify whether foreign firms will be allowed to process card transactions made in yuan.

The WTO found in 2012 that China’s electronic payments industry harmed competition and was dominated by a monopoly, UnionPay. The nation requires foreign card issuers to use UnionPay’s network to complete yuan transactions, reports say, forcing Visa and MasterCard to surrender a portion of each transaction to UnionPay.

Full content: Global Post and Finextra

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.