Mastercard Joint Venture Gets Approval for Domestic Bank Card Clearing in China

A Mastercard joint venture (JV) entity received formal approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) to begin domestic bank card clearing activity in China.

The JV entity, Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing), has established standards, rules, structures and infrastructure in line with local regulatory requirements, Mastercard said in a Monday (Nov. 20) press release.

The company has obtained the necessary certificates for a local switch business, demonstrating its commitment to operating in compliance with Chinese regulations, according to the release.

“Mastercard NUCC is committed to being in China as an active partner, working to expand issuance and acceptance of Mastercard-branded products for the benefit of local businesses and consumers,” Ling Hai, chairman of the board of Mastercard NUCC and co-president of international markets at Mastercard, said in the release.

Mastercard has already built a cross-border portfolio in China, with tens of millions of bank cards and millions of acceptance points across the country, according to the release. The infrastructure has facilitated connectivity to the global economy and has driven cross-border and inbound commerce in China.

“We are pleased to have reached this milestone with our local partner NUCC,” Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in the release. “Mastercard’s deeper participation in the Chinese market will benefit the country, its consumers and its businesses, while simultaneously boosting our company’s mission of connecting and powering an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone and unlocks priceless possibilities for all.”

Earlier this year, Mastercard enabled inbound acceptance via Chinese mobile payment platforms Alipay and Tencent wallets, allowing international cardholders to pay “like a local” at tens of millions of QR payment points when traveling around China, the release said.

With this payment option, international visitors to China can go cashless while traveling around the country. For example, with the Alipay-Mastercard partnership, overseas card transactions completed on the Alipay digital wallet can be processed through Mastercard’s omnichannel payments platform, so that small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can accept payments from anywhere in the world.