Mastercard's JV gets approval to conduct domestic payments processing in China

Mastercard, a global payment giant, announced on Monday that its joint venture (JV) entity, Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd has gotten formal approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR). Subsequently, the payments company can now conduct domestic bankcard clearing activity in the country.

In a release, Mastercard NUCC’s board chairman, who is also the company’s co-president of international markets, Ling Hai stated, “Mastercard NUCC is committed to being in China as an active partner, working to expand issuance and acceptance of Mastercard-branded products for the benefit of local businesses and consumers. As we ramp up our domestic operations, we look forward to working with customers and partners in China to harness technologies and innovations in a way that empowers local businesses and delivers the best payments experiences to people every day.”

In recent years, the payments giant has built a robust cross-border portfolio in China; including millions of acceptance points and bank cards. This in turn has boosted connectivity to the global economy as well as powering cross-border and inbound commerce in the Asian country.

In 2020, China’s central bank approved Mastercard NUCC’s application to commence formal preparations to establish a domestic bankcard clearing institution in the country. Since then, the joint venture has set up structures, rules, standards, and infrastructure that are in line with the country’s regulatory requirements. It has also acquired the necessary certificates for a local switch entity.

Earlier this year, Mastercard allowed for inbound acceptance through China’s mobile payments platforms; Tencent and Alipay wallets. These partnerships meant that Mastercard cardholders from across the globe could make payments at numerous QR payment points when traveling in China.

Individuals from all over the world visiting China can now go cashless while traveling within the country. For instance, the Alipay - Mastercard partnership allows for overseas card transactions completed on the Alipay digital wallet to be processed via Mastercard’s omnichannel payments platform. With that, SMEs in China can accept payments from every corner of the world.