Rama Krishna Sangem
Indians are in deep debt trap! Credit card spends surged 27 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 18.26 lakh crore in financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from nearly Rs 14 lakh crore in the year-ago period, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
In March 2024, credit card spends rose nearly 10.07 per cent to Rs 1.64 Lakh crore from Rs 1.49 lakh crore in February. This is on account of the financial year close and festival sales during March.
The festival season and the fact that March is the year-end are likely to have driven transactions during the month on a sequential basis. Credit card spend will continue to grow although it is likely to moderate owing to a higher base and regulatory scrutiny,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, associate director, CareEdge Ratings
Of the total Rs 1.64 trillion (lakh crore) credit card transactions, point of sale (PoS) in the country rose to Rs 60,378 crore in March from Rs 54,431.48 crore in February. Meanwhile, e-commerce payments inched up to Rs 1.05 trillion from Rs 95,000 crore.
HDFC cards top
Among the top card players, use of HDFC Bank’s credit card was at Rs 43,471.29 crore in March, 8.57 per cent higher than Rs 40,288.51 crore in February. This is because HDFC bank ties up with most consumer goods companies for usage of its cards on EMI basis.
Similarly, Axis Bank posted 8.05 per cent growth in transactions to Rs 18,941.31 crore in March from Rs 17,528.97 crore in February. Meanwhile, spend on ICICI Bank’s credit card rose 14.49 per cent to Rs 30,733.11 crore in March from Rs 26,843.03 crore in February.
Also, SBI Card’s transactions rose 7.32 per cent to Rs 24,949.17 crore. The total number of credit cards issued by banks in India has increased to 101 million in March 2024. It was 100.60 million at the end of February 2024.
HDFC Bank is the leader in credit card issuances with the lender’s cards in circulation standing at 20.59 million. Other major players include SBI Card with 18.89 million cards, ICICI Bank (16.95 million) and Axis Bank with 14.21 million cards. Interestingly, most salaried people have more than one credit card and they struggle to clear minimum dues every month, leave alone EMIs.
