(Yicai Global) Aug. 7 -- China has made significant progress in opening up of its bank card clearing market. Visa Inc., US multinational financial services corporation, takes the lead in taking practical actions in line with new developments in China market.

According to a report by the Beijing Youth Daily on August 7, Visa has submitted an application to the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, for qualifications of setting up a bank card clearing institution in China, becoming the first overseas card organization to make such an application.

"We have long-standing commitment to the Chinese market. We believe that Visa's products and services will help China achieve its policy objectives, including driving economic growth, innovation and poverty alleviation. We expect that the People's Bank of China will consider our application in line with relevant regulations and guidelines that have been promulgated. As one of the fastest growing payment markets in the world, China leads the innovation in mobile payments. Visa's commitment to the Chinese market is long-term," underlined an official from Visa Inc.

MasterCard, another well-known international bank card organization, said that China's opening up of its market for bank card clearing to foreign investors was not only important for MasterCard, but also essential to Chinese consumers. MasterCard will work with China's financial institutions, consumers, business organizations and government departments to give full play to the positive role of industry in driving economic growth, it said.

American Express also said it was excited that foreign card organizations had the opportunity to apply for a Chinese bank card clearing business permit and would submit such application in due course.