PayPal has become the first foreign firm to get an online payments license in China after buying a 70% stake in Guofubao Information Technology Co (GoPay).
In a brief statement, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman says the People's Bank of China has approved the GoPay acquisition, with the deal set to close in the fourth quarter. Terms were not disclosed.
GoPay holds a payment business license, meaning that PayPal becomes the first foreign company to enter the Chinese market some two years after Beijing promised to open up.
The likes of Visa and Mastercard have not had their license applications approved, despite the central bank's pledge last year of "equal treatment" for domestic and foreign providers.
PayPal will be able to offer online, mobile and cross-border renminbi payments, taking on market giants WeChat Pay and Alipay.