V Stock Gains Overnight — Visa Gets China’s Nod To Prepare For Domestic Payments Market Entry

• Visa first applied in May 2020 to establish a domestic bankcard clearing institution in China.
• A local clearing network would allow Visa to settle domestic yuan transactions directly through its own system.
• CEO Ryan McInerney was part of President Donald Trump’s business delegation to Beijing in May and led a separate trip to the Chinese capital in September.

 Visa Inc. (V) said on Tuesday it received approval from China’s central bank to begin preparing to set up a domestic bankcard clearing institution. This brings the U.S. payments network a step closer to entering China’s domestic payments market.

V shares were up more than 1% in the overnight session at the time of writing.

Visa’s China Expansion Plans

Visa said the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) approved its application to begin formal preparations for domestic operations. A local clearing institution would let the company settle domestic yuan transactions directly through its own network.

Ryan McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of Visa, described the approval as a “significant step forward” in the company’s commitment to China.
He also acknowledged the role of U.S. and Chinese leaders in “pursuing a constructive and strategically stable relationship between the world’s largest economies.”

Visa first applied to establish a bankcard clearing institution in China in May 2020. Since then, the company has worked with Chinese banks on dual-branded cards, with China’s UnionPay handling domestic transactions and Visa processing overseas payments. In January, Visa said cards issued in mainland China could be linked to Apple Pay for overseas use.

Trump’s China Engagement And Visa’s Push

The approval follows diplomatic engagement between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump raised Visa’s request for access to China’s domestic market during his Beijing visit in May. In September, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would review and approve applications from foreign financial institutions, including U.S.-funded firms, seeking to operate or set up branches in the country.

McInerney joined Trump’s business delegation to Beijing in May and became chair of the US-China Business Council in June.

Mastercard And AmEx Already Have A Foothold

Visa’s rivals have already made progress in China’s domestic payments market. Mastercard’s (MA) Chinese joint venture began processing payments in 2024 after receiving approval in February 2020 to prepare for bankcard clearing operations.

American Express (AXP) was the first of the three to receive a processing license in June 2020, after the PBOC approved it in 2018.

V Stock: Stocktwits Retail Sentiment

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Visa improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained ‘normal’ at the time of writing.

V stock has gained 9.5% year to date. 

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