India adds 1.26 million credit cards in July as spending rises; HDFC, SBI lead the way

India's credit card issuers reported a notable surge in card additions in July, adding a net 1.26 million cards - an 11.5% increase compared to June. Despite this growth in card circulation, spending and transaction volumes have yet to catch up, according to Reserve Bank of India data. Card spending rose 7.4% year-on-year and 3.4% month-on-month to ₹2.08 lakh crore. The number of cards outstanding climbed 9.9% to 122.9 million, with issuers adding 11 million cards over the past year.

HDFC Bank led the charge with 230,067 new cards, while SBI Card and ICICI Bank added 183,076 and 170,156 respectively. Federal Bank and IDFC First Bank also saw significant additions of 108,492 and 82,723 cards. However, IndusInd Bank was the only major issuer to report a decline, cutting its portfolio by 9,397 cards after a 10,890-card drop in June.

Transactions volumes increased 24.5% year-on-year to 605.3 million, outpacing the growth in spending. This led to a decline in the average value per transaction, falling nearly 14% to about ₹3,440 from ₹3,987. This trend suggests that cards are being used more frequently for smaller-value purchases. Analysts note that the steady growth in cards-in-force and rising card additions point to sustained demand and a healthy expansion of the industry's customer base.