India’s credit card spending has consistently surpassed the Rs 2 trillion mark for three consecutive months, with July 2026 recording Rs 2.08 trillion, signalling a robust new normal for consumer expenditure and economic activity.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
Key Points
- Credit card spending in India has exceeded Rs 2 trillion for three consecutive months, with July 2026 reaching Rs 2.08 trillion.
- The average monthly credit card spend in 2026 has risen to Rs 2 trillion, up from Rs 1.93 trillion in 2025.
- The total number of outstanding credit cards increased to 122.86 million in July 2026, reflecting a growing card base.
- Private and public-sector banks are expanding their card base and market share, while foreign banks have seen a decline in outstanding cards.
- HDFC Bank and SBI Cards reported significant year-on-year increases in spending, contributing to the overall surge.
Credit card spends topped Rs 2 trillion for the third consecutive month in July, with the average monthly spend in 2026 rising to Rs 2 trillion, compared with Rs 1.93 trillion in 2025, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
Credit card spends in July stood at Rs 2.08 trillion, up from Rs 1.93 trillion in July 2025 and Rs 2.01 trillion in June 2026.
Spending hit an all-time high of Rs 2.18 trillion in March 2026.
Sustained Spending Trends
Average monthly card spends stood at Rs 1.93 trillion in January-December 2025, rising to around Rs 2 trillion in the January-July period of 2026.
The overall number of credit cards outstanding rose to 122.86 million in July from 121.6 million in June and 111.62 million in July 2025.
While private and public-sector banks (PSBs) saw healthy additions to their card base during the period, foreign banks witnessed a decline in outstanding cards.
“Rs 2 trillion in credit card spends is likely to become the new normal. In the next couple of months, the country will move into the festival season, and this spending trend is likely to sustain,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, director, CareEdge Ratings.
Market Share Dynamics
“Foreign banks are ceding market share. Despite that, private banks, which were early entrants, continue to lead, while PSBs are gradually acquiring market share,” he said.
Even as the number of credit cards outstanding at foreign banks declined during January-July, their spending continued to rise. Foreign banks’ credit card base fell by 0.12 million to 4.24 million in July.
However, spending rose to Rs 9,000 crore.
Bank-Specific Performance
Meanwhile, private banks added 3.9 million cards in January-July, taking their total card base to 86.91 million.
PSBs added 1.55 million cards, taking their total to 29.40 million.
Private banks accounted for Rs 1.50 trillion in spending. HDFC Bank posted an 11.93 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in spending to Rs 60,217.54 crore.
In contrast, ICICI Bank’s card spends fell 5.9 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 34,025.27 crore, while Axis Bank recorded a modest 4.6 per cent increase to Rs 23,824.7 crore.
PSBs’ spending stood at around Rs 46,000 crore.
SBI Cards, the largest public-sector credit card issuer, reported a 21.6 per cent Y-o-Y jump in spending to Rs 39,591.76 crore.
Among leading card issuers, HDFC Bank added 230,067 cards during the month, taking its total base to 26.97 million.
SBI Cards added 183,076 cards to reach 22.76 million, while ICICI Bank added 170,156 cards, taking its base to 19.69 million.
Axis Bank added 70,091 cards, taking its outstanding card base to 16.26 million.
