Credit card spends rose 7.06 per cent year-on-year to ₹1.97 trillion in April 2026, up from ₹1.84 trillion in the same month last year, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This growth was driven by increased activity in both point-of-sale and e-commerce transactions. In March, credit card spends had surged to ₹2.19 trillion due to fiscal year-end transactions, as reported by Business Standard.
Point-of-sale transactions demonstrated strong growth, rising 8.76 per cent YoY to ₹73,848 crore in April 2026, while e-commerce transactions increased 6.05 per cent to ₹1.23 trillion, according to RBI data. These figures highlight the continued shift toward digital and contactless payment methods in the Indian market.
Among major card issuers, SBI Cards led with the highest growth rate, clocking a 28.98 per cent YoY rise in spends to ₹37,940.43 crore from ₹29,415.22 crore. HDFC Bank recorded 12.34 per cent YoY growth to ₹58,106.22 crore from ₹51,724.10 crore. However, ICICI Bank's spends declined 7.35 per cent YoY to ₹32,499.1 crore from ₹35,079.47 crore, while Axis Bank's spends were marginally up 3.87 per cent YoY to ₹22,023 crore from ₹21,201.53 crore.
Credit card issuances increased 8.19 per cent YoY in April 2026 to 119.44 million, with growth of 0.81 per cent from March 2026, according to RBI data. HDFC Bank added 2.44 million cards compared to the same month last year, taking outstanding cards to 26.44 million. SBI Cards added 1.25 million cards to reach 22.24 million, while ICICI Bank added 0.902 million cards to 19.20 million, and Axis Bank added 1.13 million cards to 16.09 million.
