The People’s Bank of China said on Oct. 13 it has issued an administrative
permit allowing Visa Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. to prepare a
bank-card clearing institution. Visa must complete preparations within one year
and may then apply to commence operations; the PBOC, together with the national
financial regulator, will review the start-up application and, if approved,
issue a bank-card clearing business license. Visa Information Technology
(Beijing) is a foreign-invested enterprise established by Visa in China.