Credit cards cross 10 crore milestone, Know which bank issued maximum credit cards

In January 2024, the number of credit cards in India increased steadily, nearing the significant milestone of 10 crore. HDFC Bank played a key role, crossing 2 crore cards during the month.

Growth in Credit Cards

• Steady Increase: Credit cards rose by nearly 16 lakh, a bit slower than December 2023.
• Decline in Some Banks: American Express, Standard Chartered, Union Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra witnessed a slight decrease in their card numbers.

Leading Issuers

• HDFC Bank: Maintained its lead, adding 2.3 lakh cards to reach 2.01 crore cards.
• State Bank of India (SBI): Came second with 1.9 crore cards.
• ICICI Bank: Saw a notable increase with 3.1 lakh additions.

Other Key Players

YES Bank, CSB Bank, IDFC First Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and AU Small Finance saw significant net additions in cards in January.

Card Spends

• Steady Growth: Card spends reached ₹1.66-lakh crore, the second-highest ever, after October 2023.
• E-commerce Dominance: E-commerce payments made up 64.8% of credit card spends.
• PoS Transactions: Point-of-sale transactions comprised 35.2% of spends.

Spending Trends

• Top Issuers’ Performance: Except for HDFC Bank, all top four issuers saw a 4-7% increase in spends.
• Axis Bank: Recorded the highest increase in spends at 6.56%.
• HDFC Bank: Despite a 2.37% decline from December, it remained the top spender with ₹43,711 crore.

Sector Performance

• Mixed Results: Indian Bank, Union Bank, and Jammu and Kashmir Bank experienced strong spend increases.
• Declines: Federal Bank, IndusInd Bank, South Indian Bank, RBL Bank, Kotak Bank, HSBC, and SBM Bank India saw spends decline by 3-14%.