Visa (V) Wins China Approval to Prepare Card Clearing

Visa (V) has won approval from China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), to begin formal preparations for a domestic bank card clearing business. Clearing is the network that passes card payments between the shopper's bank and the shop's bank. Visa now has one year to prepare before it can apply for a licence to operate.

Visa announced the approval before the US open on 13 October 2026. Its shares rose 1.7% to $396.06 that day.

Visa said in a press release on 13 October 2026 that the PBOC had approved its "Application to Prepare". The approval lets Visa begin formal preparations to set up a domestic bankcard clearing institution. Visa gave no date for finishing the process.

The PBOC listed the decision on its register of approvals to prepare the same day.

Visa first applied to the PBOC in May 2020, according to its annual report. Xinhua, China's state news agency, reported that Visa could until now clear only cross-border payments in foreign currency.

China's rules set out two steps. First, the PBOC approves an applicant to prepare. The applicant then applies to open.

The PBOC decides on opening after consulting the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), China's financial regulator. Approval to open brings a bankcard clearing licence.

American Express announced its approval to prepare, through a joint venture with the Chinese fintech LianLian, on 9 November 2018. The venture's licence is dated 5 June 2020 on the PBOC register, about 19 months later.

Mastercard announced approval for its joint venture with NetsUnion Clearing on 11 February 2020. That licence is dated 17 November 2023, about 45 months later. Both gaps are longer than Visa's one-year preparation window.

Visa closed at $389.27 on 12 October 2026, the last close before the news. That was its highest close since at least September 2024. The shares had already risen 4.6% from the 7 October close, over three trading days.

On 13 October Visa rose 1.7% to close at $396.06. That was a new closing high over the same period.

The dashed line marks 13 October, the day of the news.

A moving average is the mean closing price over a set number of days. The 13 October close was 6.8% above the 50-day average of $370.73. It was 17.3% above the 200-day average of $337.66.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) runs from 0 to 100. It compares gains with losses over the last 14 days. Visa's RSI stood at 74.0, above the upper reference line at 70.

The bars below the price show daily trading volume, blue on up days and red on down days. The grey bars on the right show how many shares traded at each price, called the volume profile. The busiest band was $324 to $328.

Each candle on this chart is one day. The thick body runs from the open to the close. The thin line spans the high and low. Green means the shares closed above their open, red below.

On 13 October the shares opened at $394.72, 1.4% above the previous close of $389.27. They ranged from $390.69 to $396.35 and closed at $396.06. The candle is green, matching an up day. Even the day's low stayed above the previous close.

Visa has several share classes. Counted as class A shares, they total about 1.867 billion at 21 July 2026, according to its latest quarterly report. At the 13 October close of $396.06, that values Visa at about $739 billion.

US companies report under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Visa also gives non-GAAP earnings, which leave out items such as litigation provisions. Over the four quarters to 30 June 2026, non-GAAP earnings were $12.78 a share. The 13 October close was 31.0 times that.

Visa splits revenue only into the US and international. In the quarter to 30 June 2026, international revenue was $7.2 billion of $11.6 billion, or 62.1%.

Visa's annual report says no country other than the US gave it 10% or more of net revenue in the year to September 2025. Net revenue was $40.0 billion, so China brought in less than $4.0 billion.

Visa puts the yearly consumer spending it can address at more than $40 trillion. That estimate leaves out China and Russia. A licence would add a market that sits outside that figure today.

The same report names UnionPay as the main domestic card processor in China. It also says Alipay and WeChat Pay could make competing hard even with a licence. Any revenue from domestic clearing must wait for that licence.

Visa reports its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on 27 October 2026, after the US close. A webcast follows at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.

The one-year preparation window runs to about October 2027. The PBOC's published guide says it decides within 90 days of accepting an application to open.

Visa now holds permission to prepare, the first of two steps toward clearing yuan card payments inside China. The licence is still ahead. So is any revenue from it.

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No. On 13 October 2026, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), approved Visa to prepare a domestic bankcard clearing business. It is not a licence. Visa has one year to prepare, then must apply to open. The PBOC decides after consulting China's financial regulator. Only a licence would let Visa clear yuan card payments between Chinese banks.

Visa does not disclose it. In the year to September 2025 no country other than the US gave Visa 10% or more of its $40.0 billion of net revenue. So China brought in less than $4.0 billion. Visa says limits on cards using UnionPay at home and Visa abroad have cut its China revenue.

Visa reports fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on 27 October 2026, after the US market close. A webcast starts at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Visa's fiscal year ends on 30 September. In the previous quarter, to 30 June 2026, net revenue rose 14% to $11.6 billion.

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