Chinanews.com, November 11 (Gong Hongyu, Zhongxin Finance) China's financial industry opens up to the outside world to usher in a landmark event!
Recently, the People's Bank of China, together with the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, reviewed and approved the application for opening a bank card clearing institution submitted by Wanshi Network Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. On November 11, the People's Bank of China issued a bank card clearing business license to Wanshi Net.
As a joint venture between MasterCard and China Netlink Clearing Co., Ltd., what are the important changes that MasterCard's license in China has brought to China's financial industry and cardholders?
Screenshot from the official website of the People's Bank of China.
It is an important signal for the financial industry to expand its opening up
At present, Wanshi Netlink has officially become the third bank card clearing organization in China and the second Sino-foreign joint venture bank card clearing institution approved in China. The first Sino-foreign joint venture bank card clearing institution was the "Connect Company" established by American Express in China in 2020, and its opening ended the situation that China UnionPay was the only one in the clearing field in China.
Unlike American Express, MasterCard, the parent company of Masterlink, is the second-largest bank card clearing institution in the United States, with a payment processing network in more than 210 countries and territories, and has a strong presence in the global clearing field.
Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of Zhaolian, said in an interview with China News Finance that its approval of the license is another landmark event for the new round of opening up of China's financial industry.
"The opening of the bank card clearing market means that China's financial industry has entered the stage of opening up the financial infrastructure, which will promote China's domestic payment and clearing market to better comply with international rules, improve service levels, and prevent and control financial risks, which is of great practical significance for promoting the structural reform of the financial supply side and improving the ability of financial services to the real economy." Dong Ximiao said.
Promote the high-quality development of the payment industry
According to previous news from the People's Bank of China, Wanshi Network has been preparing since 2020. Prior to this approval, Mastercard could only issue foreign currency bank cards such as dual-currency cards or single-label US dollar cards and euro cards in China. After approval, Mastercard can cooperate with banks to issue a single-logo Mastercard RMB bank card to realize the use of RMB for settlement at home and abroad.
Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, told the media: "China is one of the most important markets for Mastercard, and we are encouraged to be able to do business in China with our Chinese partner, Netlink Clearing Company. Mastercard's deeper involvement in the Chinese market will contribute to China's high-quality development, further promote an inclusive digital economy for all, and unlock more 'priceless' opportunities." ”
The People's Bank of China said that in the next step, it will continue to follow the principles of openness, fairness and justice, promote the market access of bank card clearing in an orderly manner in accordance with the law, coordinate development and security, continue to improve the supervision mechanism of bank card clearing institutions, and promote the high-quality development of the payment industry.
Data map: RMB. Photo by Shao Wanyun
What is the impact on consumers' use of RMB to "buy, buy, buy" globally?
After obtaining the approval, the company told the media that the company will issue a RMB bank card under the "MasterCard" brand as soon as possible, lay out an omni-channel acquiring network, and support cardholders to spend at more than 1 million merchants at home and abroad.
In this regard, Dong Ximiao said that if Mastercard launches a Mastercard RMB bank card, it will further enrich the choices of domestic financial consumers, and support cardholders to spend at more than 1 million merchants at home and abroad and settle directly in RMB.
"Compared with the previous dual-currency credit card, the procedures for currency exchange are eliminated and the associated costs are also saved." Dong Ximiao emphasized.
However, Dong Ximiao said that compared with the international mainstream bank card charging standards, China's bank card rates are low, so it is unlikely that domestic bank card fees will drop significantly. (ENDS)