Credit card adoption is rapidly expanding beyond India's major metropolitan areas into Tier-II and Tier-III cities, driven by increasing incomes, digital awareness, and the integration of RuPay credit cards with UPI, according to a new report by SBI Card.
'Credit card debt comes with high interest cost and stringent penalties.' 'If you do not repay on time, the costs balloon.'
Credit card spending in September recorded strong growth of 25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), marking the highest increase in six months. Even as many banks saw higher slippages during the July-September quarter of 2024-25, spending growth exceeded 20 per cent for the first time since February. According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), September spending reached Rs 1.76 trillion, compared to Rs 1.42 trillion in the same period a year ago. In August 2024, credit card spending was Rs 1.68 trillion.
Some of the fintechs that will get impacted include Cred, Paytm, Phonepe and Amazon Pay, among others.
Credit card spending dropped 11 per cent sequentially in November at Rs 1.15 trillion, but topped Rs 1 trillion for the ninth month straight, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed as the festive season ends and consumption activity slows down. Year-on-year (YoY), spending was up 29 per cent. Card spends have consistently topped the Rs 1 trillion mark, led by the rising share of e-commerce transactions.
Credit card spending reached Rs 2 trillion in October, a 14.5 per cent rise from September, largely driven by festival season purchases. However, the volume of outstanding credit cards increased only marginally during the same period. The spike in spending comes at a time when nearly all major credit card issuers are calibrating their growth in the segment due to visible signs of stress.
Credit card spends jumped 57 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in September, aided by the festive season. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, in September, credit card spends totalled Rs 80,477.18 crore compared to Rs 77,981 crore in August, thereby registering a 3.2 per cent growth sequentially, despite the high base. In the corresponding period last year, credit card spend was to the tune of Rs 51,356.68 crore.
'Spends are likely to increase from the current levels because recovery is yet to fully be over.'
SBI Cards, like most other credit card issuers in the country, suffered losses during the financial crisis of 2008-09 due to sharp increase in delinquencies. The company, a joint venture between State Bank of India and GE Capital, turned profitable in 2010-11. Kadambi Narahari, chief executive officer, shares the strategy to grow the company's cards business in coming years.
The net credit card additions in the banking sector nearly halved to 2 million in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25) from the previous quarter due to seasonal and regulatory factors. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the net credit card additions during the April-June quarter of FY25 stood at 2 million, 48 per cent lower than 3.9 million in the December-March quarter of FY24.
Major credit issuers, including the largest - HDFC Bank - have integrated their systems with the Bharat Bill Payment Systems (BBPS) for receiving credit card repayments via third-party applications.
State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, on Monday asked borrowers to control credit card debt and get rid of high-cost liabilities at all cost.
Contactless card transactions can be up to three times faster than cash payments
Contactless card transactions can be up to three times faster than cash payments
We aksed Get Ahead readers to send us their experience of using credit cards and debit cards. Here are a few responses that list the advantages and disdavantages of using both the types of plastic cards.
Credit card spends in June, although down marginally month-on-month (MoM), remained above the Rs 1-trillion mark for the fourth consecutive month. In June, credit card spends topped Rs 1.09 trillion, down 4.34 per cent MoM, revealed the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). However, on a year-on-year basis, spends were up 73 per cent. In May, credit card spends hit an all-time high, reaching Rs 1.14 trillion.
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If you were thinking that by raising interest rates, the RBI is only trying to get stricter with credit card holders, think again
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If you use customised cards that suit your lifestyle needs, you could also end up availing of a variety of deals, rewards, and discounts.
According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the number of credit cards in the country increased by 128,000 in May. HDFC Bank added the most number of cards in May (69,974). State Bank of India (SBI) was next with 34,183 cards. SBI sells credit cards through SBI Cards, its joint venture with GE Capital. However, ICICI Bank and HSBC have reduced their credit card portfolios by 11,029 and 11,024, respectively.
The idea was that despite some defaults the high rates would assure good profits.
At a time when banks are engaged in a fierce battle to gain market share in the credit card segment, Citibank India has been losing its share, both in terms of outstanding cards and spends in the last few years. Still, average spends on Citi cards are higher than any other Indian bank. Last year, the global banking behemoth announced exit from its consumer banking franchises in 13 markets across Europe, Middle East and Asia, including India, citing lack of scale.
The outstanding credit card base dropped to 77.99 million in August from over 80 million in July, mainly on account of the new norms of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that warrant the deactivation of cards that are inactive for a year. While there was a 2.8 per cent decline in net card additions on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in August, a first in many months, credit card spends slipped 3 per cent on a high base. Still, spends topped the Rs 1-trillion mark for the sixth consecutive month.
Credit card spends touched an all-time high of Rs 1.16 trillion in July, registering a growth of 6.5 per cent on a month-on-month basis and 54 per cent year-on-year, latest data put out by the Reserve Bank of India revealed. Spends have topped the Rs 1 trillion level for five consecutive months now. Industry participants are expecting further tailwinds in credit card spends with the onset of the festive season, where spends typically remain at an elevated level.
Spending through the credit card in March 2022 jumped 48 per cent year-on-year to top Rs 1 trillion -- five months after it had hit the same figure for the first time in October 2021, buoyed by festive season expenditure. The jump has been driven by the pickup in consumption as the pandemic recedes. Expenditure in March, at Rs 1.07 trillion, was up 24.5 per cent over February, the data put out by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
Balance transfer is a facility in which you can transfer outstanding balance from one credit card to another. It works well if you have multiple cards.
Credit card issuers saw significant erosion of their card base during the July-September quarter as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) norms mandated deactivation of cards that have been inactive for a year. The second quarter of the current financial year saw outstanding cards-in-force decline by 2.55 million to 77.7 million. Prior to this, the industry, on an average, was witnessing a net addition of over 1.5 million credit cards a month as players became aggressive on the unsecured lending business after the pandemic.
After a sequential fall in November, due to high base and waning of the festival season effect, credit card spends have picked up again in December, recording over Rs 1 trillion for the 10th consecutive month. Latest figures released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) show that credit card spends in December 2022 touched Rs 1.26 trillion, up 10.21 per cent compared to November. And, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, spends were up 34.31 per cent during this period.
Tighter norms, better economy reduce credit card non-performing assets.
Credit card spending has hit a record high of Rs 1.4 lakh crore in May, the latest data from Reserver Bank of India showed. The total spending or outstanding dues on credit cards, which remained rang-bound throughout the year in the previous fiscal, have been rising by 5 per cent month on month this year. Similarly, the number of cards in use has also jumped by more than 5 million since January and crossed 87.4 million in the reporting month, making this also an all-time high in May, according to the RBI data.
Having cleaned up their credit card portfolios and sensing a change in the economic environment, issuers such as SBI Cards, Standard Chartered and HSBC are seeing an increase in their credit card base at a marginal pace.
Credit card payments to buy fuel at petrol pumps will from October 1 not get a 0.75 per cent discount that State-owned oil companies had introduced more than two-and-a-half years back to promote digital payments.
You can gift your sister a Women Special Credit Card, which is not only loaded with exciting rewards for women, but they are also your sister's first step towards a better credit management.
Banks have started charging customers for payment of credit card bills through cheque and so paying online makes more sense.
