(Photo/gov.cn)

Along with the official issuance of the "Measure for administration of bank cards clearing institutes" on June 6, payment institutions from both China and abroad will be able to take part in China’s domestic clearing market, which means UnionPay will no longer be the only bank card clearing institute in China.

As all the eligible companies, no longer mattering whether they are domestically funded or foreign funded, can apply for a license for bank card clearing business. UnionPay will not be the only available choice for the banks. The bank will have the right to choose. 

Shi Wenchao, president of UnionPay once said that if Visa and MasterCard have their settlement network in China, the income of UnionPay will inevitably drop. 

Statistics show that in 2015, a total of 55 trillion yuan in bank card based consumption was made in China, accounting for 48 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. The multibank transaction of UnionPay reached 53.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 31 percent. Facing such a huge market, international payment giants as well as Chinese third party payment companies all want to take a share. 

Market experts think that the old and the new clearing institutes will compete with each other in the future. Enterprises and consumers will face more choices and enjoy more benefits and convenience in terms of price and service along with this competition.