Credit card spending declined 2.8% month-on-month to Rs 2.02 trillion in August 2026, compared with Rs 2.08 trillion in July, according to RBI Data. The decline was primarily driven by a drop in online payments during the month.
Key Highlights
- Credit card spending fell 2.8% to Rs 2.02 trillion in August amid declining online payments.
- Outstanding credit cards rose to 124.05 million despite moderation in overall spending during August 2026.
|
Particulars |
August 2026 |
July 2026 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total credit card spending |
Rs 2.02 trillion |
Rs 2.08 trillion |
-2.8% |
|
Online spending |
Rs 1.23 trillion |
— |
-7% |
|
E-commerce spending |
Rs 79,355 crore |
— |
+4.77% |
|
Credit cards outstanding |
124.05 million |
122.85 million |
+1.20 million |
|
Credit cards outstanding (Aug 2025) |
124.05 million |
112.34 million |
+11.71 million YoY |
Online Credit Card Spending Declines 7%
Online credit card spending fell 7% in August to Rs 1.23 trillion, compared with the previous month. However, e-commerce spending increased 4.77% month-on-month to Rs 79,355 crore. The decline in online spending weighed on overall credit card transactions despite growth in e-commerce spending during the month.
Credit Card Spending by Major Issuers
|
Bank/Card Issuer |
August Spending |
MoM Change |
Cards Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HDFC Bank |
Rs 61,233.45 crore |
+1.83% |
27.09 million |
|
SBI Card |
Rs 35,312.7 crore |
-10.8% |
22.96 million |
|
ICICI Bank |
Rs 32,334 crore |
-4.9% |
19.83 million |
|
Axis Bank |
Rs 22,704 crore |
-4.7% |
16.29 million |
HDFC Bank Credit Card Spending Rises
HDFC Bank saw a credit card growth of 1.83% in August to Rs 61,233.45 crore, the largest amongst the major credit card issuers.
On the other hand, the credit card transactions in ICICI Bank declined by 4.9% month-on-month to Rs 32,334 crore. Axis Bank saw a drop of Rs 1,100 crore or 4.7% to Rs 22,704 crore, while SBI Card’s share value fell by nearly 10.8% to Rs 35,312.7 crore.
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Credit Cards Outstanding Increase to 124.05 Million
The number of outstanding credit cards has also increased from 112.34 million in August 2025 to 124.05 million in August 2026, but the amount of credit card spends has also decreased.
During the month of August, HDFC Bank added another 122,669 credit cards to its base and the total number of credit cards in circulation with the bank has now reached 27.09 million. SBI Card's base increased by 193,294 cards, with a total base of 22.96 million.
ICICI Bank has registered an addition of 140,498 cards during the month giving the bank a card base of 19.83 million cards. Axis Bank credit card base rose by 32,789 to 16.29 million.
The increase in outstanding cards indicates continued expansion in the credit card base even as overall spending moderated during August.
