US firm inks China card deal

Global Payments (GPN.NYSE), a US payment processing company, has struck an agreement to process card payments in Beijing, opening a crack into China’s lucrative bank-card market, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under the deal, Global Payments’ Asia-based joint venture with Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HBC.NYSE, HSB.Euronext, HSBA.LSE, 0005.HK) will be allowed to process cards backed by China UnionPay – a government-owned company with a monopoly on bank cards issued in renminbi. Though the deal only includes transactions in Beijing, Global Payments hopes to expand it to Shanghai and other locations in the future. Until now, foreign firms have been able to tap China’s consumers only when they use their Chinese bank cards overseas.