India's Credit Card Usage Dips, Growth Slows Amid Falling New Additions

Mumbai: Credit card spending by Indian consumers dropped to a seven-month low of Rs 1.67 lakh crore in February, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s data, as reported by Business Standard. This marks a sharp decline from Rs 1.84 lakh crore in January, signaling reduced consumer spending activity.

New Credit Card Additions See Sharp Fall

The number of new credit card additions also plummeted, nearly halving to 440,000 in February from 820,000 in January. Major banks, including HDFC Bank, SBI Cards, and ICICI Bank, reported declines in both new card issuances and transaction volumes.

Major Banks Report Declines

HDFC Bank’s credit card transactions fell to Rs 46,378.18 crore from Rs 50,664.04 crore in January. Similarly, ICICI Bank saw a drop to Rs 30,990.86 crore from Rs 35,681.6 crore, while Axis Bank’s transactions decreased to Rs 18,884.27 crore from Rs 20,212.17 crore.

Slower Growth in Outstanding Credit Cards

Despite the decline in spending, the total number of outstanding credit cards rose to 109.31 million from 108.87 million in January 2025. However, the growth in outstanding credit card balances slowed to 15.6 per cent year-on-year, reaching Rs 2.9 lakh crore in the first nine months of the fiscal year, compared to 32.5 per cent growth in the same period last year.

Online Spending Faces Sharp Slowdown

A report by Kotak Bank highlighted a sharp slowdown in overall credit card spending growth, with online transactions experiencing a steeper decline compared to offline spending. Currently, two-thirds of credit card spending is for online transactions, while one-third is for debit card usage.