India's Credit Card Spending Slows 11% in Feb, Issuance Hits 23-Month High

However, on month-on-month basis, it eased to Rs 1,772 billion -- a moderation of 11 per cent.

The spending data indicated a slowdown in consumption momentum, largely driven by the top 4 banks, the report from Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates Limited said.

Card issuance remained robust at 1.05 million new cards up 7.7 per cent YoY, hitting a 23-month high, indicating continued focus on customer acquisition.

Total cards outstanding reached around 118 million, showing steady expansion in the credit card base across the industry, the report said.

Transaction volumes dropped 8.5 per cent monthly to 491 million, though maintaining strong 23.9 per cent YoY growth, suggesting usage remains healthy despite lower spending values.

The slowdown in spends and volumes through top 4 banks, which together account for around 76 per cent of industry spends, highlighted their outsized impact on overall trends.

February is seasonally weak for card usage, but the sharper-than-usual decline suggests underlying softness in near-term consumption trends, the brokerage flagged.

Divergence between strong card issuance and weak spending highlights that banks are prioritising growth and customer acquisition over immediate usage, which may support future recovery in spends.

Average spends per card declined to Rs 15,056, down 11.7 per cent MoM and 1.6 per cent YoY, reflecting weaker consumption and dilution due to rapid card additions.

Among major banks, SBI led with strong YoY spend growth of 30.3 per cent. In contrast, the other three banks witnessed moderation in growth compared to the past two years.

Market concentration remains high, with top 10 banks accounting for about 93 per cent of total spending share, indicating a highly consolidated industry.

- IANS