Credit card spends jump 57% in September

The credit card spending increased by 57% year over year (YoY) in September, owing to the festive season, according to a report in Business Standard. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) figures, credit card spending was Rs 80,477.18 crore in September, up from Rs 77,981 crore in August, a 3.2% increase sequentially despite the high base. Credit card spending was Rs 51,356.68 crore in the same time the previous year.

Credit card expenditures totaled Rs 75,119 crore in July. Credit card spending is substantially higher than it was before the outbreak. Credit card spending in January and February 2020 totaled Rs 67,402.25 crore and Rs 62,902.93 crore, respectively.

“Spending across most categories other than travel reached March 2021 levels in September,” Sandeep Bakshi, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), ICICI Bank, said in an analyst call following the Q2 results. We expect the spending trend to continue during the holiday season.” “The festive season has started well, and we foresee further momentum,” Amitabh Chaudhury, MD and CEO of Axis Bank, said after the company’s second-quarter earnings.

Experts believe that rising economic activity, combined with the festive season, will keep spending momentum strong. Over the last six months, the industry’s monthly spending per card grew to over Rs 12,400 from an average of Rs 10,700, according to Motilal Oswal.

HDFC Bank had card spends of Rs 20,221 crore in September, followed by ICICI Bank with Rs 17,268 crore and SBI Cards with Rs 14,698 million. In September, the banking industry added more than a million (1.09 million) new credit cards, up 10.8% year over year.

This is the largest number in 11 months, bringing the total number of credit cards in circulation to 65 million. The country’s largest credit card issuer, HDFC Bank, added 244,257 credit cards in September, followed by ICICI Bank with 233,628 cards, Axis Bank with 202,537 cards, and SBI Cards with 174,875 cards. Around 520,000 cards were added to the system in August, with ICICI Bank and SBI Bank leading the way.