China is calling on global bank card clearing institutions to cut their fees on transactions made on the Chinese mainland using overseas cards, in an attempt to remove a major obstacle to the government’s intensifying efforts to make it easier for foreigners to make payments.
The Payment and Clearing Association of China (PCAC), a self-regulatory organization overseen by the central bank, has held discussions with international bank card issuers on pushing the fees local merchants are charged for foreign card transactions down to a rate of around 1.5% of the transaction value from the current range of 2% to 3%, Caixin has learned from sources with knowledge of the matter.
