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India's Credit Card Spending Touches ₹2.02 Lakh Crore in May as New Card Additions Surge

Posted on 2nd Jul 2026 01:01 pm by rohit kumar

India's credit card spending climbed to ₹2.02 lakh crore in May, reflecting steady growth in digital payments and consumer spending. According to a report by Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd., total spending increased 6.6% year-on-year (YoY) and 2.6% month-on-month (MoM), recovering after a sharp decline in April.

 

While the latest figures indicate improving consumer activity, analysts believe the recovery remains gradual rather than broad-based.

 

Credit Card Spending Recovers After April Slowdown

 

The report noted that credit card expenditure rebounded in May following a 10.1% month-on-month decline in April.

 

Although spending has crossed the ₹2 lakh crore mark again, experts say the pace of recovery is still moderate, suggesting consumers remain selective in their discretionary spending.

 

New Credit Card Issuance Reaches 27-Month High

 

One of the biggest highlights of the report was the sharp increase in new credit card additions.

 

Key highlights include:

 

10 lakh (1 million) new credit cards issued in May

Second-highest monthly card issuance in the last 27 months

Total active credit cards increased to 12.05 crore

Annual growth in active cards accelerated to 8.7%, the fastest pace in 15 months

 

The strong growth indicates continued expansion of India's digital payments ecosystem and increasing consumer adoption of credit cards.

 

Credit Card Transactions Continue to Rise

 

The report also showed healthy growth in transaction volumes.

 

During May:

 

Total credit card transactions reached 58.7 crore

Transaction volume increased 5.7% over April

Transactions surged 25.8% compared to May last year

 

The sharp rise suggests more consumers are using credit cards for everyday purchases and digital payments.

 

Average Spending Per Card Shows Mixed Trend

 

Despite higher overall spending, the average expenditure per credit card presented a mixed picture.

 

Average spending per card declined 1.8% year-on-year

However, it increased 1.7% month-on-month

 

This indicates that while more cards are being used, spending is becoming more widely distributed across cardholders.

 

SBI Cards Outperform Industry

 

The report identified State Bank of India as one of the strongest performers during the month.

 

Highlights include:

 

Per-card spending increased 12% year-on-year

Growth was largely driven by higher corporate spending

SBI emerged as one of the notable outliers compared to the broader industry trend

Top Banks Continue to Dominate Spending

 

According to the report:

 

The top four banks account for nearly 76% of total industry credit card spending

They contributed 63.7% of the monthly increase in overall spending

 

This underscores the continued dominance of leading banks in India's credit card market.

 

Average Transaction Value Declines

 

While transaction volumes increased significantly, the average value of each transaction moved lower.

 

The report found:

 

Average spending per transaction fell 3% month-on-month

Declined 15% year-on-year

 

The decline is primarily attributed to the growing number of low-value digital transactions, reflecting changing consumer payment habits.

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