US-based Visa has announced that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has approved its Application to Prepare. The approval, disclosed on 13 October 2026, allows the company to begin formal preparations to establish a domestic bankcard clearing institution in China.
The decision does not yet allow Visa to start clearing operations. The company must still complete the remaining steps set out under PBOC regulations before it can operate in China’s domestic market. Visa described the approval as a milestone towards serving that market.
What the approval covers
The Application to Prepare is a preparatory stage in the PBOC’s process. It authorises Visa to begin formal work on setting up a domestic clearing institution, but it does not authorise operations. Visa has stated that it will take the necessary steps, in line with PBOC regulations, to begin operating domestically, and that it will continue its efforts to complete the process. The company has not disclosed a timeline for the launch of domestic bankcard clearing operations.
Ryan McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of Visa, described the approval as a significant step in Visa’s long-standing commitment to China, noting that the company has been active in the country’s payments landscape for more than 40 years.
Regulatory and diplomatic context
The announcement has acknowledged the role of the leaders of the US and China in pursuing what was described as a constructive and strategically stable relationship between the two economies. With this reference, Visa has placed the PBOC’s decision within the wider context of bilateral relations between the two countries, rather than presenting it as a purely regulatory matter.
Visa characterised China’s digital payments market as advanced and dynamic. It pointed to the country’s ecosystem and its continued commitment to further liberalisation of the financial sector. The company said it intends to bring its security and reliability capabilities to Chinese consumers and businesses and to contribute to the development of China’s domestic payments landscape.
Implications for the market
If Visa completes the process, the result would be its entry into domestic bankcard clearing in China. For financial institutions, merchants, and consumers in the country, Visa would become a domestic clearing participant, subject to the PBOC’s regulatory framework.
For now, the approval is an initial regulatory step, not authorisation to operate. Visa can begin domestic clearing operations only once it meets the remaining requirements set by the central bank. The timing of that launch therefore depends on how the company progresses through the next stages of the PBOC’s process.
