New Delhi, March 6 Credit card spending in India rose 8.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 2.05 lakh crore in January 2026, driven by momentum in e-commerce transactions, a report showed on Friday.
The report by CareEdge Ratings also said that public sector banks (PSBs) registered a 7.1 per cent YoY growth in outstanding cards -- a significant jump compared to private banks.
In terms of transactions, digital payments continued to dominate credit card usage, with e-commerce accounting for over 61 per cent of total transactions.
“Online transactions grew 7.3 per cent YoY, with PSBs registering a sharp 31.5 per cent increase -- significantly outpacing the 2.7 per cent growth recorded by private banks,” the report said.
However, much of the growth came from the SBI group, whose card base expanded 7 per cent to 2.19 crore, the report highlighted.
In contrast, foreign banks saw a contraction of around 6 per cent in outstanding cards as they maintained a cautious expansion strategy focused on premium customers, according to the report.
However, it also flagged that overall growth showed signs of moderation after the year-end surge in discretionary purchases.
On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, spending declined 2.3 per cent.
The report also pointed out that the annual growth rate was lower than the 13.8 per cent expansion recorded in January 2025 due to a high base effect.
“The total number of outstanding credit cards grew from 10.9 crore in January 2025 to 11.7 crore in January 2026,” the report said, suggesting a 7.1 per cent YoY rise and a 0.8 per cent increase compared with the previous month.
Meanwhile, total outstanding credit card balances stood at Rs 2.95 lakh crore in January 2026.
Private sector banks (PVBs) continued to lead card issuance with 7.6 per cent annual growth, supported by strong distribution networks and co-branded partnerships with e-commerce and fintech platforms. “Within this group, smaller and mid-sized private lenders accounted for a significant portion of new card additions,” CareEdge Ratings stated.
Overall, credit card spending during FY26 so far has risen nearly 13 per cent YoY to Rs 19.7 lakh crore, the report highlighted.
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