On November 19th, the reporter learned from the website of the People's Bank of China that the People's Bank of China, in conjunction with the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration, has reviewed and approved the application for the opening of a bank card clearing institution submitted by "Wanshi Wanglian Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd." (hereinafter referred to as Wanshi Wanglian Company). On November 17, 2023, the People's Bank of China issued a bank card clearing business license to Wanshi Online Company.
After obtaining administrative permission, Wanshi Online Company can authorize its member institutions to issue and accept RMB bank cards of the "MasterCard" brand within China. Wanshi Wanglian Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. has also become the second joint venture bank card clearing institution in China. Industry insiders say that this move signifies the further opening of China's bank card clearing market, which has important practical significance for promoting the structural reform of the financial supply side and enhancing the ability of financial services to serve the real economy.
Wanshi Wanglian Company is a joint venture established by MasterCard and Wanglian Clearing Co., Ltd. in China. It was established in March 2019 and has a shareholding structure of 50% by MasterCard Asia Pacific, 1% by MasterCard International, and 49% by Wanglian Technology Co., Ltd.
Ling Hai, Chairman of Wanshi Netcom and Co President of MasterCard International, stated that "Wanshi Netcom will be committed to providing first-class innovative payment solutions for consumers, member institutions, merchants, the public sector, and all partners. We look forward to working with regulatory agencies and industry colleagues to contribute to the development of China's payment ecosystem
Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher of Zhaolian, stated that the opening up of China's bank card clearing market objectively promotes better compliance with international rules, improves service levels, and prevents and controls financial risks in China's domestic payment and clearing market. This has important practical significance for promoting the structural reform of the financial supply side and enhancing the ability of financial services to serve the real economy.
Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst in the financial industry at Botong Analytics, also believes that this move will promote the high-level development of the payment and clearing industry in the process of continuously introducing competitors, and provide better differentiated services for all parties and consumers in the industry chain. He predicts that Wanshi Netcom may start by entering the market through business exchanges or cross-border payments.
In 2015, the State Council issued the "Decision on Implementing the Access Management of Bank Card Clearing Institutions", and China's bank card clearing market entered a new stage of comprehensive opening up to the outside world. In 2020, Connect (Hangzhou) Technology Services Co., Ltd., a joint venture between American Express and Lianlian Digital Technology Co., Ltd., officially began commercial operations in China, becoming the first Sino foreign joint venture bank card clearing institution in China.
The People's Bank of China stated that it will promote the entry of the bank card clearing market in an orderly manner in accordance with the law, coordinate development and security, and continuously improve the regulatory mechanism of bank card clearing institutions.