Year-on-year data also revealed substantial growth of 32.2%, primarily due to increased consumption in tier-II and tier-III cities.
Credit card spending in India hit Rs 1.5 lakh crore, rising 2.7% month-on-month increase, driven by a significant rise in transactions at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and on e-commerce websites . Year-on-year data also revealed substantial growth of 32.2%, primarily due to increased consumption in tier-II and tier-III cities. In July, credit card spending had already seen a 5.5% month-on-month increase, reaching Rs 1.45 lakh crore.
Changing transaction landscape
Transactions underwent notable changes, with the volume of PoS transactions rising to 152.1 million in August, up from nearly 143 million in July. Similarly, credit card transactions on e-commerce platforms increased to 138.5 million, compared to 134.3 million in July. This collectively led to a total volume of 291.4 million credit card transactions in August, up from 277.8 million in July.
How issuers fared
Among leading credit card issuers, American Express stood out with a 10.1% month-on-month increase in spending. On an annual basis, spending on American Express cards rose by nearly 35%.
Conversely, HDFC Bank observed a marginal 0.1% month-on-month dip in credit card spending in August, totalling Rs 39,489 crore. SBICards and Payment Services, India’s only listed credit card issuer, reported robust growth of nearly 6%, reaching Rs 27,462 crore in spending. ICICI Bank’s credit card expenditures also saw a commendable increase of nearly 3%, totalling Rs 26,632 crore in August. Meanwhile, Axis Bank’s credit card spending experienced a modest 0.5% increase, reaching Rs 17,789 crore.
Cards in circulation
The total number of credit cards in circulation increased to 91.3 million as of August 30, up from 89.9 million at the end of July.
Experts attribute this surge in credit card spending to an expanding range of categories, including travel, entertainment, and utility payments. Co-branding partnerships between card issuers and leading e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon, have played a crucial role. Additionally, the rise in collaborative card partnerships between banks and non-banking entities, along with the growing popularity of RuPay credit cards on the unified payment interface, has contributed to expanding the customer base for credit cards.
