Credit card spends at 7-month low in Feb amid stress in unsecured loans

Number of outstanding credit cards stood at 109.31 mn, up from 108.87 mn at the end of January

Credit card spends dropped to a seven-month low of ₹1.67 trillion in February, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India, amid stress in unsecured loans and a rise in household debt. Spends stood at ₹1.84 trillion in January.

 

Point-of-sale transactions for the month added up to ₹62,124.91 crore, down from ₹69,429.4 crore in January 2025. Meanwhile, ecommerce payments declined to ₹1.05 trillion from ₹1.15 trillion in the previous month.

 

“Over the past few months, stress in unsecured lending has increased. Household debt is rising at an aggregate level, making the RBI uncomfortable. This could have led to a drop in card issuances and credit card spending,” an analyst said.

 

 

According to analysts, there is a shift in spending patterns among customers amid rising household debt. Recently, a report by TransUnion Cibil observed that growth in India’s retail credit continued to slow during the October-December period of 2024-25, with a sharp decline in credit uptake among new-to-credit (NTC) consumers. Consumption-led credit products originated by NTC consumers dropped 21 per cent year-on-year in loan originations.

 

“While growth in credit card issuances and spending is slowing, the existing gross non-performing asset levels and rising credit costs indicate some pressure. This month, macroeconomic conditions, coupled with seasonal variations such as the post-festival slowdown, likely contributed to the decline in credit card spending,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, associate director, BFSI research, CareEdge Ratings.

 

“Going forward, although the credit card industry will continue to grow, the pace is likely to slow, with competition in the sector expected to intensify,” Bhalerao added. 

 

Transactions of leading credit card issuers also declined. Transactions via the largest credit card issuer, HDFC Bank, dropped to ₹46,378.18 crore in February from ₹50,664.04 crore in January. Similarly, ICICI Bank’s card transactions fell to ₹30,990.86 crore from ₹35,681.6 crore, while Axis Bank saw a decline to ₹18,884.27 crore from ₹20,212.17 crore.

 

Transactions on SBI Card, issued by the public sector lender, dropped to ₹26,175.55 crore from ₹28,976.68 crore in January 2025.

 

Meanwhile, the total number of outstanding credit cards in the system rose to 109.31 million from 108.87 million at the end of January 2025.

 

HDFC Bank remains the leader in credit card issuances, with 23.62 million cards in circulation. Other major players include SBI Card with 20.66 million, ICICI Bank with 18.11 million, and Axis Bank with 14.77 million.