China’s central bank has refused to acknowledge applications submitted by Visa and Mastercard to process renminbi payments, despite rules in 2017 that removed formal obstacles to foreign participation in the $124tn market following a decade-long struggle.
The application delays highlight complaints by overseas companies and White House trade negotiators that China uses informal barriers to block foreign competition in the domestic market, even where written rules ostensibly guarantee fair treatment.
Although Visa and Mastercard submitted applications to the People’s Bank of China more than a year ago, the PBoC has not formally acknowledged these submissions, according to two people familiar with the application process.