American Express announced that its joint-venture in mainland China, Express (Hangzhou) Technology Services Company Limited (“Express Company”), has received approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for a network clearing license. With this, American Express becomes the first foreign payments network to be licensed to clear RMB transactions in mainland China. The company expects to begin processing transactions later this year.

This follows a pattern of China opening up their market to American companies, in October 2019, the People Bank of China approved PayPal’s acquisition of local payments firm GoPay.

Express Company is American Express’ joint venture with Lianlian DigiTech Co., Ltd, a Chinese fintech services company. Express Company has built a network to clear domestic transactions charged on American Express branded cards, and is also compatible with the key mobile wallet players in China.

“We are pleased to be the first foreign company to receive this license. This approval represents an important step forward in our long-term growth strategy and is an historic moment, not only for American Express but for the continued growth and development of the payments industry in mainland China,”

said Stephen J. Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express.

“We look forward to welcoming millions of new consumers, businesses and merchants in China to American Express, as well as continuing to enhance our support for our global customers when they travel to the region.”

Walter Liu, CEO of Express Company said,

“We are proud to be the first licensed foreign payments network in mainland China. We will offer our partners differentiated services by bringing together the best from American Express and Lianlian. Our focus now is to continue the preparation work for a successful business launch by working closely with the regulators and partners.”