On May 9th, Wanshi Wanglian Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Wanshi Wanglian) officially opened. After Connect (Hangzhou) Technology Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Connect Company), it is the second joint venture bank card clearing institution in China and also the third bank card clearing institution in the country.
Wanshi Wanglian Company is a joint venture between American Mastercard Company and Wanglian Technology Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan. The company is 49% owned by NetEase Clearing Company through NetEase Technology Co., Ltd., and a total of 51% owned by Mastercard Company in the United States. Mastercard is a globally renowned payment technology company with a payment processing network spanning over 210 countries and regions.
In November 2023, Wanshi Wanglian obtained a bank card clearing business license issued by the People's Bank of China, and was approved to operate the Mastercard brand bank card business in China. After opening, it authorized member institutions to issue and accept Mastercard brand bank cards. Today, several banks, including Bank of China, Minsheng Bank, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, announced that they have issued or are preparing to issue "China Mastercard" bank card products.
Wanshi Wanglian stated that it will collaborate with various acquiring banks and payment institutions to establish an omnichannel acquiring network within China, providing cardholders with a fast and secure payment experience both domestically and internationally. Today, Lakala and Jialian payment bank card acquiring institutions announced that as the first batch of member units of Wanshi Wanglian, they have completed the network access procedures for Wanshi Wanglian member institutions.
NetEase Clearing Company stated that it will support the various work of Wanshi NetEase after its opening, and assist Wanshi NetEase in providing consumers with high-level payment solutions.
Wang Pengbo, a financial industry analyst at Broadcom Consulting, told Caixin that the bank card clearing market has welcomed the third institution, which is a landmark event for China's financial and payment industry to open up to the outside world. And now is also a key node for China to promote the project of improving payment convenience. Foreign card organizations are more likely to establish bridges and links to connect foreign personnel to China, while expanding their own acceptance network.
However, Wang Pengbo also pointed out that due to the lower transaction rates of domestic bank cards compared to the international market, card based trading banks themselves have a deep layout. Not only that, domestic users also have a relatively weak user perception foundation for the Mastercard brand. The company also faces certain challenges in the process of new business expansion. Therefore, Wanshi Internet Connection needs to continue to make efforts to deeply cultivate the Chinese market, put effort into deploying card based infrastructure, and develop online integrated products that adapt to the usage habits of domestic users.