The Chinese central bank has accepted American Express’ application to start a bank card clearing business in China.
The People Bank of China made the announcement on its official Wechat account, without giving more details, according to Bloomberg. The decision to accept the application signals that it’s moving closer to final approval, the online publication continues.
In June 2015, China allowed foreign bank-card clearing providers to obtain licenses by setting up units or acquiring a local company, ending a monopoly by state-run China UnionPay. However, progress in entering China has been slow for card schemes such as Visa and Mastercard, with neither company yet obtaining approval.
In November 2018, Amex became the first foreign company to win permission to start preparation for the business after forming a joint venture with LianLian, a Chinese fintech-services company.
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