Credit cards are becoming more and more common in India; the country's credit card count is getting close to 100 million. According to the most recent figures from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as of December 2023, there were 97.9 million credit cards that were in circulation, with a record 1.9 million additions made in only one month. In comparison, the 12.24 million cards introduced in 2022 were significantly fewer than the 16.71 million added in 2023.

Over the last five years, this growth trend has continued, with the total number of credit cards in use rising from 55.53 million in December 2019 by about 77%. A combination of the persistent push from banks and changing consumer spending habits is responsible for this surge.

"The increase in credit cards in circulation is a result of banks' active push for credit cards and changes in consumer spending habits. Credit cards are now issued to individuals based on their eligibility. Credit cards were harder to come by in the past. The number of credit cards in use has increased as a result of the introduction of various credit card kinds by banks. But now they're starting to cut these," CareEdge associate director Saurabh Bhalerao stated. Bhalerao added that promotions such as "zero-cost EMI" are driving changes in consumer spending habits and a rise in credit card usage.

With 19.81 million cards in circulation in December 2023 - up from 19.51 million in November - HDFC Bank maintained its lead in the private sector. HDFC Bank declared earlier this week that it has hit the 20 million milestone in January of this year. Axis Bank (13.58 million cards), ICICI Bank (16.48 million cards), and SBI Card (18.48 million cards) are the other big players.

Indians spent Rs 1.65 trillion on credit cards in December 2023 compared to Rs 1.61 trillion in November. This increase is a reflection of inconsistent trends in point-of-sale (PoS) and online payment spending. E-commerce payments increased to Rs 1.06 trillion from Rs 1.02 trillion, while PoS transactions decreased marginally to Rs 58,300.18 crore from Rs 59,014.93 crore in November.

Leading credit card issuer transactions also increased. Credit card transactions through HDFC Bank increased from Rs 42,049.32 crore in November to Rs 44,771.87 crore in December. Comparably, card transactions at Axis Bank saw an increase to Rs 19,055.30 crore from Rs 18,582.84 crore, and at ICICI Bank, they went from Rs 27,772.63 crore to Rs 28,213.32 crore. 

Transactions on the public sector lender's SBI Cards, however, decreased from Rs 31,407.57 crore in November 2023 to Rs 29,249.29 crore. Overall credit card transactions increased by 32% year over year in December 2023 compared to Rs 1.25 trillion in December 2022, demonstrating a strong expansion.