, Columnist
AmEx May Find China Can Live Life Without It
The U.S. card company has finally gained access to the mainland market. Now it just has to find customers.
Green light.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After years of trying, American Express Co. is finally cracking into the China market. Now the hard work begins.
On Saturday, AmEx got the green light to start processing yuan payments, making it the first of the big three U.S. card companies to get access to the mainland. The license, initially approved in 2018, gives AmEx a portal to some of the world’s biggest spenders, and will pit the company against state-backed China UnionPay Co., which dominates the market. Currently, holders of AmEx, MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. cards can only use them for foreign-currency payments outside China or on overseas websites.