THE People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has given the final nod to a network clearing license for an American Express joint venture, allowing it to be the first foreign credit card company to launch onshore operations in China. The PBOC said in a statement Saturday that it had approved the license for Express (Hangzhou) Technology Services Co., a joint venture between American Express and LianLian DigiTech Co. It said the move reflected China’s continued opening up of its financial industry. The PBOC said in January that it had received American Express’s application to start operations in China. In a statement, American Express said it expects to begin processing transactions later this year. “This approval represents an important step forward in our long-term growth strategy and is an historic moment, not only for American Express but for the continued growth and development of the payments industry in China,” said Stephen J. Squeri, chairman and chief executive officer of American Express. The PBOC has also approved an application by Mastercard’s China joint venture to conduct bank card clearing operations in the country, but the company has not yet received a network clearing license. Card giant Visa submitted its application in early 2018 and is still awaiting approval. American Express will face large domestic competitors and a well-developed market for mobile payments. Mobile transactions topped 190 trillion yuan (US$27 trillion) in China in 2018, making it the world’s largest such market, according to iResearch. China had 8.5 billion bank cards in circulation at the end of September, with over 90 percent of them debit cards. (SD-Agencies) |