Discussion: The Future of Credit Cards in India: Decline in Adoption by 2027?

Markets Discussions
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Recent data indicates a potential decline in the adoption of credit cards in India by 2027, despite a significant surge in circulation over the past few years.

Credit Card Circulation Trends: Credit card circulation in India has surged by 62% in the last three years. However, projections suggest a decline in credit card transaction values, both online and in-store, in favor of UPI payments.

Key Players in the Credit Card Market: Monthly data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) highlights that India’s top four banks dominate the credit card market, with HDFC Bank leading with a 20.28% market share and 20.4 million cards in circulation. Other major players include the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank.

Collaboration with UPI: The question arises: Will UPI replace credit cards, or will collaboration between credit card companies and UPI be vital for future adoption?

Insightful Data:

  • Less than 4% of Indians own credit cards, far below the World Bank’s benchmark of 30%.
  • The total number of unique credit cardholders in the country is less than 40 million.
  • Per capita card spends are estimated at just $23, a significant difference compared to the USA’s $3,200.

Do you use credit cards? If yes, how many credit cards do you have.

Source:

The Captable

THE GLOBAL PAYMENTS REPORT

2 Likes
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Been there, done that. Had dozens of active cards at the peak. Most LTF and 1-2 paid cards. Always made 100% full payment close to payment dates. Maximized rewards points and merchant offers by choosing the right card.

But now with lots of people in the game, and people exploiting with business expenses on personal cards, the credit card has lost its charm. So many categories like utility, fuel, and even education do not earn reward points, in fact, the latest trend is to charge the customer for making utility payments!

So, for a person like me, who uses the credit card to really earn from interest-free delayed payments and earning cashbacks, I see lesser usage of credit card in the near future due to these changes in the ecosystem.

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Got 5

Using the Amazon and Flipkart cash back credit cards
Mainly for shopping ( including grocery )
Works for me . Extra 5% cash back

4

Credit is a western idea and leads to debt. Incentive is for companies to ensure people go into debt and pay humongous interests. Smart people like @R.E.M exploit these :slight_smile:

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2 credit cards…only