Online credit card spending surpassed Rs 1 crore for the first time in March, coming in at Rs 1,04,081 crore. Online card spending increased by 10% from Rs 94,774 crore in February 2024 and 20% from around Rs 86,390 crore in March 2023.

In March, offline transactions (those made using point-of-sale devices) totaled Rs 60,378 crore, a 19% increase from Rs 50,920 crore the previous year. March 2024 saw a 20% increase in credit card spending, totaling Rs 1,64,586 crore compared to Rs 1,37,310 crore the previous year.

The number of transactions has grown as a result of the higher card penetration. In March 2024, internet payments increased 33% to 16.4 crore, while point-of-sale transactions increased 28% year over year to 18 crore. The fact that transaction volume is growing faster than value growth suggests that consumers are making more low-value card payments.

Bankers predict that the average amount of transactions would likely decrease even more now that card transactions are permitted on the UPI network.

Meanwhile, there has been a noticeable decline in debit card payments as a result of the growing popularity of UPI transactions. In-store debit card transactions decreased by 30% to 11.6 crore in March 2024, while online transactions decreased by 41% to 4.3 crore. Debit card transactions decreased by 17% to Rs 29,309 crore and 16% to Rs 15,213 crore in terms of value, respectively.