According to RBI statistics for the month of May 2022, 7.68 crore credit card users spent around Rs 71,429 crore on online purchases in May, while the amount paid through swipes at Point of Sale (PoS) machines was Rs 42,266 crore. According to official figures, credit card spending surpassed Rs 1.13 lakh crore in May, up from Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the previous month.
It has also been observed that a larger number of people are using credit cards to spend more online than at stores. Considering the expenditure in April, credit cardholders spent Rs 65,652 crore for online purchases, while the amount paid at Point of Sale (PoS) machines was Rs just 39,806 crore (Figure 1). However, in terms of the number of transactions, credit card payments were marginally lower online, 11.5 crores, compared to 12.2 crores offline or at PoS machines.
On the other hand, debit card expenditure totalled just Rs 65,957 crore through PoS and digital channels together, which is 43% less than what was paid via credit cards in the same month (Figure 2).
In terms of the number of credit cards, HDFC Bank (1.72 crores) was followed by the SBI Card (1.41 crore) and ICICI Bank (1.33 crore). In May, there was an addition of 20 lakh new credit cards, which further accounted for an increased credit card usage in the month.
All the data mentioned above is indicative of the fact that cardholders are making higher-value transactions online especially using credit cards. This further clarifies the increasing popularity of credit cards for making quick and hassle-free payments both via online and offline modes. The usage of credit cards is further an indicator of a stable economy wherein people have enough funds to make bigger transactions and repay the money.
