Credit card spends surged to 4-month high of Rs 2 trillion in March

Card addition slows in FY25 following higher risk weight norm

Credit card spends surged to a four-month high of ₹2.01 trillion in March 2025 amid high year-end financial transactions, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

Banks added 800,000 cards in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), much lower than in FY24, which saw over 15 million addition, due to higher risk weight norms on unsecured loans that came into effect from November 2023.

 

After falling to a seven-month low in February, the spending has increased nearly 20.69 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M) from ₹1.67 trillion. The spending had touched ₹2.02 trillion in October 2024 amid festive season.

 

Point of Sale (POS) credit card transactions grew 13.08 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹71,473 crore, up from ₹62,124.91 crore in February. E-commerce payments expanded to ₹1.30 trillion in March from ₹1.05 trillion in the previous month.

 

“Credit card spending in March has been high, but it is quite seasonal in nature, because usually, there are insurance and other government-related expenses that are done using credit cards. There could also be payments for some year-end offers, driving the spending in March,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, associate director, CareEdge Ratings.

 

Among the banks, HDFC Bank’s spends increased 24.5 per cent M-o-M to ₹18,877.33 crore; SBI Card’s rose by 24.02 per cent M-o-M to ₹32,464.27 crore; ICICI Bank saw 18.42 per cent M-o-M rise in spend to ₹36,698.73 crore; and Axis Bank witnessed 23.45 per cent M-o-M increase to ₹23,312 crore.

 

While credit card additions inched up by 0.52 per cent M-o-M to 109.88 million, it rose by 7.94 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) from 101.8 million in March 2024. 

 

 

  The industry grew cautious over the rise in delinquencies, which led to a slowdown in card issuances. Card additions, which grew by 19 per cent Y-o-Y at the end of March 2024, saw only 8 per cent Y-o-Y growth at the end of March 2025.

 

During the post-earnings media call, Arjun Chowdhry, group executive – affluent banking, NRI, Cards/Payments & Retail Lending, Axis Bank, said: “There were certain segments where we saw signs of stress and we took early action on those segments. Some actions included cutting down on the acquisition in those segments where we saw those signs of stress. As we see improvement, which we are witnessing in the credit card portfolio, we will be bringing back the acquisition but we will be doing so cautiously and in a calibrated manner. We are not looking at faster growth than we had because we believe we are seeing stabilisation, which will allow us to deliver on that growth.”

 

Net card additions of the largest credit card issuer – HDFC Bank – was 217,832 in March. SBI Card added 159,760 cards; ICICI Bank’s net addition stood at 97,799; and Axis Bank added 129,123 cards in the month, the data showed.

 

“The March data reflects a promising turnaround in both spending volumes and value, marking a clear recovery after the February dip. With larger banks witnessing improving asset quality and the credit card ecosystem thriving despite heightened competition, disbursement momentum is expected to stay robust. Looking ahead, seasonal tailwinds from holiday and festive spending in April-May are likely to provide further impetus to overall spending expansion,” said Priya Minny, BFSI associate-institutional equity research, Ashika Group.