Mumbai: Credit card spends rose 19.6% year-on-year in October to ₹2.14 lakh crore, up from ₹1.79 lakh crore a year earlier, driven largely by strong e-commerce sales and festive-season purchases. Sequentially, however, spending was broadly flat compared with ₹2.16 lakh crore in September, indicating that the festive momentum may begin to taper off from November."During the festive season, consumption received a significant boost with GST rationalisation," Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor, State Bank of India, said in a report. "In credit cards, merchant categories such as auto, grocery, electronics, furnishing and travel saw strong growth through e-commerce channels. City-wise credit card spends show rising demand across regions, with mid-tier cities witnessing the fastest growth."New credit card additions also slowed, falling to 6.27 lakh in October from 10.76 lakh in September. All major issuers reported a drop in net monthly additions. HDFC Bank, the largest card issuer, saw a 44% month-on-month decline, adding 1.44 lakh cards in October compared with 2.58 lakh in September, taking its total base to 2.54 crore. 125549494 SBI Card, the second largest, added 1.27 lakh cards, down 26% from the 1.73 lakh added in September, with its total card base now at 2.16 crore. ICICI Bank added 1.04 lakh cards, a 46% sequential decline from 1.92 lakh in September, bringing its tally to 1.84 crore. Axis Bank added 79,842 cards in October, down 25% month-on-month, with its total rising to 1.55 crore.Data from CRIF shows new credit card originations have fallen 42% over eight quarters - from 76 lakh in Q2 FY24 to 44 lakhs in Q2 FY26 - highlighting a calibrated slowdown in acquisition.The report noted that private banks have deepened their dominance, expanding their market share from 70.8% to 77.7%, while the share of other lenders has declined from 29.2% to 22.3%, reflecting tighter risk filters and a focus on higher-quality customers."New cards issued remained metro-centric, with private banks consolidating their share as they target higher-value customers," CRIF said in the report. "Asset quality pressures persist, with portfolio-at-risk in the 31-180-day bucket at 4.1%. New-to-credit share has remained stable, pointing to a maturing customer base. The overall trend signals a strategic shift toward driving higher spends from existing customers while pursuing measured growth amid elevated delinquency concerns."According to a report by Bernstein, private banks lead credit card issuance in India, with eight of the top 10 issuers being private banks. The credit card market in India is quite consolidated, with the top four banks accounting for approximately 71% of all credit cards outstanding, around 77% of transaction volumes and about 75% of transaction value.
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