MasterCard sees double- digit growth in China

Global payment operator MasterCard Inc sees double-digit annual growth in credit card transaction volumes in China, lifted by the booming e-commerce industry in the world's second-largest economy, a senior executive told Reuters on Monday.

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 travellers 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.