ICICI Securities sees 55% growth in credit card spends in Q2

• Follow

Credit card spends in July-September could jump 55% (year-on-year) on festival purchases and reopening of the economy, a report by ICICI Securities has said. Based on the trends witnessed in August and September-to-date, Q2 FY22 spends could be up by 55% on year-on-year basis, the ICICI Securities report.

The report said in July credit card spends have gone up 19% (month-on-month) to Rs 74,900 crore, which is the highest in two years. August and September also witnessed this rising trend, the report said, adding that the pre-pandemic peak of credit card spends stood at Rs 71,200 crore.

Credit card spends –considered a key gauge to measure consumer confidence—per day rose to Rs 1,810 crore in July from Rs 1,380 crore in April, it said.

Harjeet Toor, head, retail, inclusion and rural banking told the Economic Times that the use of credit cards is seen in new avenues like rental payments. There is also a low-base effect, he pointed out. “But one will have to see whether we get 55% growth(year-on-year) because traditionally large-ticket spending on travel, holiday and luxury goods is still not happening. Festive demand will help but consumer confidence can still improve,” Toor is quoted as saying in the news report.

SBI Card could be a beneficiary of the increase in consumer spending, the news report said, adding that “estimating a run rate of Rs 15,000 crore per month for October 2021-March 2022, SBI Card’s FY22 annual spends can be Rs 1.67 lakh crore, surpassing the estimate of Rs 1.57 lakh crore”.