U.S. Presses China on Mastercard, Citigroup Access as Visa Wins Oct. 13 Approval

2 articles · Updated · CNBC · Oct 16

Bangkok talks this week saw U.S. Treasury officials press Chinese counterparts to advance market access for Mastercard and Citigroup, extending commitments made during Xi Jinping’s Washington visit last month.
Francis Brooke’s delegation raised regulatory approvals in at least two bilateral meetings with the PBOC and China’s finance ministry on the sidelines of G20 and IMF-World Bank gatherings.
Visa’s Oct. 13 clearance to prepare a wholly owned domestic card-clearing business has become the clearest sign of movement; Mastercard is seeking similar independent status beyond its 2024 yuan-card joint venture.
Citigroup, which applied in late 2021 for a wholly owned securities license, has hired several dozen China staff and plans to expand that team to about 100 if approval comes.
The push suggests Beijing wants to preserve a relatively calm U.S.-China trade climate before Trump and Xi are expected to meet again at APEC in Shenzhen in November.

Sources

Left100%

As Beijing dangles independent operations for Visa and Mastercard, could strict capital controls silently trap their mainland profits?

Will US financial giants truly conquer China's market, or are these new licenses merely a diplomatic mirage hiding state-backed monopolies?

Can traditional American credit networks survive in a Chinese payment landscape already dominated by advanced digital wallets and sovereign tech?

2 total

Left100%