Credit card expenditure skyrockets: Insights into the surge
In the fiscal year 2023-24, credit card spends soared by 27%, reaching Rs 18.26 trillion compared to the previous year’s nearly Rs 14 trillion, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
The end of the fiscal year and holiday sales are the main causes of the March 2024 credit card usage spike. Mostly due to these factors, credit card spending increased by over 10.07% in March, reaching Rs 1.64 trillion from Rs 1.49 trillion in February.
Point of sale (PoS) transactions in the country grew to Rs 60,378 crore in March from Rs 54,431.48 crore in February, accounting for a total of Rs 1.64 trillion in credit card transactions.
Rising numbers: Credit card issuance and usage
The total number of credit cards issued by banks in India reached 101 million by March 2024, up from 100.60 million in February.
E-commerce payments also saw an uptick, reaching Rs 1.05 trillion from Rs 95,000 crore. Leading credit card players witnessed notable growth in transactions. HDFC Bank’s credit card usage stood at Rs 43,471.29 crore in March, up by 8.57% from Rs 40,288.51 crore in February.
Similarly, Axis Bank recorded an 8.05% increase in transactions to Rs 18,941.31 crore in March from Rs 17,528.97 crore in February. Expenditure on ICICI Bank’s credit cards surged by 14.49% in March, reaching Rs 30,733.11 crore compared to Rs 26,843.03 crore in February. SBI Card’s transactions also increased by 7.32% to Rs 24,949.17 crore.
HDFC Bank leads in credit card issuances with 20.59 million cards in circulation, followed by SBI Card with 18.89 million, ICICI Bank with 16.95 million, and Axis Bank with 14.21 million cards.
