Now Reading: India adds 1.26 million credit cards in July
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India adds 1.26 million credit cards in July
Indian credit-card issuers added a net 1.26 million cards in July, up 11.5% from June, RBI data showed. HDFC Bank led with 230,067 additions, followed by SBI Card (183,076) and ICICI Bank…
Indian credit-card issuers added a net 1.26 million cards in July, up 11.5% from June, RBI data showed. HDFC Bank led with 230,067 additions, followed by SBI Card (183,076) and ICICI Bank (170,156). IndusInd Bank was the only large issuer to report a contraction, reducing its portfolio by 9,397 cards.
Total card spending rose 3.4% month-on-month to Rs 2.08 lakh crore. Transaction volumes jumped 24.5% year-on-year to 605.3 million, but the average value per transaction fell nearly 14% to about Rs 3,440, suggesting more frequent use for smaller payments.
Outstanding cards rose 9.9% over the past year to 122.9 million. Public-sector banks' share of card spending climbed 265 basis points to 22.2%, while private banks' share fell 321 basis points to 72.1%.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The falling average transaction value confirms the shift toward mass-market and smaller-ticket usage that regulators have watched closely since RBI tightened unsecured lending norms in late 2023. Public-sector banks are catching up in a space long dominated by private and foreign issuers, a trend visible in their 22% spending growth versus private banks' 2.8%. The next data point to watch is the August net additions: if the pace holds above 1 million, the industry will be on track to add 14-15 million cards in FY26, near pre-regulatory highs.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
