Credit card spends, transactions decline in January

Mumbai: As the festive season ended, monthly spends per credit card for the industry declined 8 per cent month-on-month (MoM) in January to
Rs 12,500 though still higher than the average of Rs 11,700 over the past one year.

The average spend however, remained stable at Rs 4,400 while the number of transactions per card reduced 9 per cent MoM to 2.8, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India data.
All large players reported a decline in monthly spends per card with the highest fall seen by IndusInd Bank (Rs 5,700) and AMEX (Rs 4,100). Among larger players, decline was high for HDFC Bank (Rs 1,400) and ICICI Bank (Rs 1,100). Other players reported decline in the range of Rs 400 to Rs 1,000.

The total credit card spends for the industry declined 7 per cent MoM in January to Rs 88,040 crore. The spends had grown 5 per cent MoM to Rs 94,200 crore in December 2021. The same grew strongly at 48 per cent year-on-year (19 per cent on a two-year CAGR basis.)

The total number of outstanding credit cards in the system grew 15 per cent year-on-year in January 2022 – the highest in the past 19 months to 7.03 crore. RBL Bank reported strong growth (24.8 per cent.)