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Visa Approved to Prepare for Card Clearing Institution in China

On October 13, according to CCTV, today the People's Bank of China announced that it has approved Visa Inc. (the legal entity established by Visa in China as a foreign-invested enterprise) to prepare for a card clearing institution. This approval only grants the 'preparatory qualification' and does not mean that Visa can directly commence operations. After obtaining the preparatory qualification, Visa must complete all preparatory work within one year as per regulatory requirements. Once ready, it can submit an application to commence operations. This application will need to be reviewed jointly by the People's Bank and the National Financial Regulatory Administration. Only after passing the review and receiving the card clearing business license can Visa be considered to have formal permission. Until the final license is obtained, Visa cannot issue Visa-branded RMB cards domestically or provide RMB card clearing services to domestic entities. Currently, Visa's operations in China are focused on cross-border transactions with foreign currency cards. Existing regulations clearly state that simply providing cross-border foreign currency card clearing services does not require the establishment of a card clearing institution in China. This is why domestic users can use Visa foreign currency cards for overseas purchases, and foreign individuals can use Visa foreign currency cards in China, but Visa is currently unable to engage in RMB clearing services for domestic RMB cards. In simple terms: Visa can currently handle cross-border foreign currency card transactions; however, it cannot yet provide clearing services for domestic RMB card transactions.

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