Credit card spending in India experienced a 4.23% decline in India, totalling Rs 1.42 lakh crore, from a record high of Rs 1.48 lakh crore in August. This decrease was also lower than the Rs 1.45 lakh crore registered in July. The majority of major credit card issuers, except for IndusInd Bank, witnessed a reduction in spending during September. The top four issuers collectively saw a spending decline ranging from 2% to 9%, with SBI leading at an 8.9% decline, followed closely by Axis Bank at 8.4%, as per RBI data.
September data reveals that 65.3% of credit card spending was allocated to e-commerce payments, showing a slight increase from the 64.4% recorded the previous month. In contrast, the share of point-of-sale (PoS) transactions decreased to 34.7% in September, down from 35.6% in August.
Cards at a record high
Despite the decline in spending, the number of credit cards in circulation reached a new high of 9.3 crore in September, surpassing the 9-crore mark achieved in August. Furthermore, the outstanding number of cards rose by 1.9%, or 17.4 lakh cards, which is higher than the 1.6% increase, or 14.1 lakh cards, recorded in August. This growth was primarily led by large and mid-sized private banks, as well as large public sector banks.
ICICI Bank led in terms of card growth, adding 3.5 lakh cards during September, bringing its total to 1.56 crore cards. HDFC retained its position as the largest card issuer with 1.88 crore cards-in-force, increasing by 3 lakh cards during the month. Other issuers such as IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and RBL Bank also reported strong net additions of cards.
Several factors likely contributed to this drop in spending. Consumers might have curtailed transactions in anticipation of increased expenses during the festival season, which began in October. Additionally, reduced discretionary spending due to elevated inflationary pressures may have played a role.
