Credit card spending moderates to ₹1.89 trillion in November 2025

After crossing Rs 2 trillion in September and October, credit card spending eased to Rs 1.89 trillion in November 2025, with major issuers reporting month-on-month declines

Credit card spending in November 2025 moderated to Rs 1.89 trillion, after the surge witnessed in September and October. Amid the festive season and Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate relaxation, credit card spending had crossed Rs 2 trillion in September and October 2025.

 

Why did credit card spending ease in November 2025? 

Generally, in the festive season, credit card spending peaks due to various offers, discounts, and cash back offered by banks and other platforms. In addition, the new GST revisions further boosted spending in the economy at that time.

 

How did major credit card issuers perform month-on-month? 

All the major credit issuers witnessed a drop in spending. The largest issuer, HDFC Bank, saw a 10.33 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M) drop in spending to Rs 55,552.27 crore from Rs 61,955 crore in October 2025. SBI Cards’ transactions declined by 15.16 per cent to Rs 33,936 crore, ICICI Bank saw a 13.64 per cent drop to Rs 34,159 crore and Axis Bank recorded a nearly 16 per cent fall to Rs 20,526.4 crore.

 

What happened to the number of outstanding credit cards in November? 

Meanwhile, the number of outstanding credit cards in November rose marginally to 114.9 million compared to 114.02 million in October 2025. The largest credit card issuer, HDFC Bank, had 25.64 million cards in circulation. SBI Cards had 21.74 million, ICICI Bank stood at 18.58 million and Axis Bank had 15.57 million cards in force.

 

How much did outstanding credit cards rise year-on-year? 

The outstanding credit cards in the economy rose 7.13 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) from 107.23 million in November 2024.