Mastercard to offer yuan-denominated cards in China

Purchase-headquartered Mastercard (NYSE:MA) has received the approval from the Chinese government to begin issuing yuan-denominated credit cards in China.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Financial Regulatory Administration reviewed and approved the application of a new joint venture formed by Mastercard NetsUnion Clearing Corporation Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd to establish a bank card clearing institution in China. The PBOC issued the bank card clearing license to the joint venture, called Mastercard NUCC, that will enable its member institutions to issue and accept Mastercard-branded bank cards across China.

Mastercard is the second foreign payments-network operator to be given access to the Chinese domestic market. In 2020, a similar joint venture with a Chinese company enabled American Express to expand into China.