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China's plan to open up its domestic transactions market to
foreign companies such as MasterCard would be a "game-changer",
Ling Hai, co-president for Asia Pacific, said in an interview on
the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
MasterCard's current business in China is mostly handling
cross-border transactions when international travelers come to
China or when Chinese cardholders go overseas. The domestic
market has long been dominated by state-backed China UnionPay.
"That's going to change with China opening up. We will be able
to process domestic transactions just like a domestic national
player," Ling Hai said, adding that the timeline for this move
remains unclear.
"If you truly gain full access and get it right, China is a
game-changer," he said. "China is the future in terms of
consumer market. It will contribute a great deal in terms of
spending and volume."
Underscoring the potential of China's consumers, Alibaba Group
Holding Ltd's <BABA.N> total value of goods transacted during
its Singles' Day shopping festival reached 91.2 billion yuan
($14.32 billion).
MasterCard has already processed "millions" of transactions for
Alibaba and Chinese online payment service Tenpay in the
cross-border space, Ling Hai said. "The development of
e-commerce is our best friend," he added.
(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata\; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
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