Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. While the Indian government is focusing on digital transactions in the quarters and transactions through UPI are on the rise, the number of credit cards is growing fast and is expected to cross 100 million this year. During April, there were 8.65 crore credit cards in operation across the country. This is the highest number ever. In April 2022, its figures stood about 15% more than 7.5 crores. In a report issued by the Bankbazaar, this information has been given by quoting RBI data and according to this, the credit card usage overtook debit cards in April 2023. There were 25 crore merchant card transactions in April this year as compared to 22 crore in April last year. People prefer to use credit cards for travel, electronics, dining or shopping.

Axis Bank's credit card users increased

In terms of market share, Axis Bank's credit card users grew the most in April. It benefited from the acquisition of Citibank. Only four banks - HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank - accounted for 71% of all existing credit cards in circulation in April 2023. The industry average per transaction stood at Rs 5,120 in April.

What are the reasons behind this surge?

The main reasons for increasing the use of credit cards have been given, among them the main ones are purchases of large amounts and the benefit of reward points. Apart from this, the facility of cash back is also given in it and along with it there is also a provision like no-cost EMI. Many cards also offer premium lifestyle rewards. Another 4.6 crore debit cards were added in April, taking the total number of debit cards in the country to 96 crore. But in the last one year, the amount of debit card transactions decreased by 16% to Rs 55,000 crore.