Credit card outstanding increased by 29.6 percent in January to reach a record level

Credit card outstanding grew by 29.6 per cent to an all-time high of Rs 1.87 lakh crore in January 2023 on rising consumer confidence and rapid digitization after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, credit card dues increased by more than 20 per cent during the first 10 months of the current financial year. The maximum increase was 30.7 percent in June.

Rama Mohan Rao Amara, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SBI Card, said, “Due to the digitization of many categories, existing customers are spending more through their credit cards.” The convenience of the Internet has definitely contributed to the growth, especially in categories such as health and fitness, education, water and electricity bills, etc. Talking about the monthly trends in credit card usage, Rao said there has been a steady rise in spending through credit cards over the past few months.

In January this year, Rs 1.28 lakh crore was spent through credit cards, which was Rs 1.26 lakh crore in December 2022. Rao said that this growth is 45 percent on an annual basis and for the last 11 months, credit card spending has remained more than one lakh crore rupees. By the end of January 2023, around 8.25 crore credit cards were issued by various banks.

The top five banks in the country in terms of credit card issuance are HDFC Bank, SBI Card, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank. The Reserve Bank data also showed that the annual growth in credit card outstanding stood at 29.6 per cent in January 2023, as against nearly 10 per cent in the same month a year ago. The outstanding amount in January 2022 was Rs 1,41,254 crore, which increased to Rs 1,86,783 crore in January 2023.

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