Who can challenge UnionPay when the clearing market is open?

China UnionPay is about to usher in a new era of competition after a 12-year-old Chinese clearing market.

Recently, the State Council executive Meeting decided to open up the bank card clearing market, eligible domestic and foreign enterprises, can apply for the establishment of bank card clearing institutions in China.

This is "the end of an era, the opening of a new era." "Then the question is: Who is going to challenge UnionPay and become the new payment clearing organization?"

Let's take a look at the current domestic clearing market. Alipay as the representative of the payment company, over the years to take a long straight with the card issuing line, has become a substantial sense of the "transfer of clearing institutions", become "online UnionPay." Therefore, for the domestic has actually engaged in the renminbi bank card transfer clearing business of the main body, the market open more meaning is to give a legitimate birthright. But Alipay is not without short board, become liquidation organization means to have card issuing qualification, the use of bank card not only need online scene, more need offline resources. But now the relationship between Alipay and the bank is delicate, to persuade the bank to give it is difficult, even if it through its own private banks can be issued, limited capacity, and no interconnection is meaningless. If Alipay is limited to online payment liquidation, it is still unknown from a policy standpoint.

In addition, industrial and Commercial Bank of China to enter the pay clearing market is also very high. By the end of 2013, the number of bank cards issued by ICBC has reached 566 million. What is this concept? By 2013, the National Bank card total of 4.2 billion, one ICBC accounted for One-seventh. Whether it is the number of card issuing or professional level, ICBC does have the ability, even at the beginning of the union UnionPay was also from the Central Bank and ICBC introduced a large number of personnel.   But one of the problems ICBC needs to address is competition. ICBC set up a liquidation organization, CCB, BOC, ABC, Bank of the small partners will go to use this clearing system?

In addition to domestic emerging players, VISA, MasterCard foreign Giants are the originator of the pay clearing market. They wait for the news for nearly 30 years, they have mature technology, team and ready-made rules, the only challenge is "China's national conditions." When the foreign banks entered China at the beginning of the industry panic, are known as "Wolf", but more than 10 years later, these foreign institutions still show some "acclimatized". First, domestic clearing rates are not as high as they are abroad, and their profits are limited for foreign giants. Second, now UnionPay in foreign settlement channels developed rapidly, domestic cardholders can go abroad to take UnionPay channels will not choose Visa, MASTERCARD, in the future if they can be in the domestic card issuers, then they get through the domestic cardholder's channel, but domestic banks will be matched with hairpin?

There is a variable in the prospects for foreign investment. The liquidation rules are not out, whether it will be like the opening of foreign foreign banks, the establishment of a transitional period, or step completely open? If a transitional period is set up to allow other institutions in the country to first ascertain the rules of clearing institutions and improve their layout abroad, the space for foreign investment will be more limited.