Credit cards

India had 124.05 million credit cards in August 2026

Observations: August 2026

Credit-card payments totalled ₹2.02 trillion · $21.1 billion in August 2026. Cards outstanding measure cards in circulation, not unique people.

What the figures measure

+1% compared with July 2026.

+5.4% compared with February 2026.

+10.3% compared with August 2025.

Comparisons above refer to cards outstanding. Payment transactions and payment value exclude cash withdrawals.

One person may hold several cards. A bank’s card count is not its share of card spending.

Dollar equivalents use the same reference rate throughout, not the historical exchange rate for each observation. FX as of September 25, 2026.

Credit cards

Credit cards in circulation

India had 124.05 million credit cards in circulation in August 2026

Cards outstanding at month end, August 2023 to August 2026.

Number in circulation at month end across reporting banks.

data.indiadispatch.com

Credit card payments

Cardholders made 632.4 million credit-card payments worth ₹2.02 trillion ($21.1 billion) in August 2026

Payment value excludes credit-card cash withdrawals.

Payment value · August 2026₹2.02 trillion$21.1 billion
Axis in INR. Paired USD values use the site’s dated reference rate.
Payment volume · August 2026632.4 million
Monthly credit-card payment transactions across reporting banks.

data.indiadispatch.com

Online vs swipe

60.7% of credit-card payment value was online in August 2026

The remaining value was reported at physical points of sale or in RBI's separately reported other channel.

Online credit-card payment value as a share of all payment value reported by banks. Cash withdrawals are excluded.

data.indiadispatch.com

Source: Reserve Bank of India, India Dispatch Research

Largest card books

The ten largest bank books held 89% of India’s credit cards in August 2026

Shares use cards outstanding at month end.

01HDFC Bank27.1 million
02State Bank of India22.96 million
03ICICI Bank19.83 million
04Axis Bank16.29 million
05IDFC First Bank4.95 million
06Kotak Mahindra Bank4.89 million
07RBL Bank4.69 million
08Bank of Baroda3.38 million
09Yes Bank3.08 million
10IndusInd Bank2.98 million

data.indiadispatch.com

Card-book changes

State Bank of India added 193,294 credit cards while SBM Bank India reduced its credit-card book by 25,578 in August 2026

Each figure is the net change in cards outstanding at month end.

Compared with July 2026

Most cards added

Net change
  1. 01State Bank of India+193,294
  2. 02ICICI Bank+140,498
  3. 03HDFC Bank+122,669
  4. 04Bank of Baroda+101,670
  5. 05Canara Bank+96,154
  6. 06Federal Bank+94,263
  7. 07Slice Small Finance Bank+81,233
  8. 08IDFC First Bank+61,090
  9. 09Unity Small Finance Bank+47,174
  10. 10Yes Bank+41,774

Most cards withdrawn

Net change
BankReduction
SBM Bank India25,578
Standard Chartered Bank17,017
Jammu and Kashmir Bank13,258
South Indian Bank3,111
Union Bank of India1,596
Karur Vysya Bank417
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank31

7 banks recorded a net reduction in this period.

data.indiadispatch.com

Monthly cards and payments

MonthCardsPayment transactionsPayment value
August 2026124.05 million632.45 million₹2.02 trillion · $21.1 billion
July 2026122.86 million605.27 million₹2.08 trillion · $21.7 billion
June 2026121.59 million581.26 million₹2.01 trillion · $21 billion
May 2026120.45 million595.5 million₹2.03 trillion · $21.2 billion
April 2026119.46 million559.53 million₹1.97 trillion · $20.6 billion
March 2026118.63 million577.48 million₹2.19 trillion · $22.9 billion
February 2026117.7 million493.8 million₹1.77 trillion · $18.5 billion
January 2026116.65 million539.71 million₹1.99 trillion · $20.8 billion
December 2025115.79 million539.83 million₹2.05 trillion · $21.4 billion
November 2025115 million502.98 million₹1.89 trillion · $19.7 billion
October 2025114.13 million518.29 million₹2.14 trillion · $22.4 billion
September 2025113.51 million495.24 million₹2.17 trillion · $22.6 billion
August 2025112.5 million493.58 million₹1.91 trillion · $20 billion
July 2025111.81 million486.18 million₹1.94 trillion · $20.2 billion
June 2025110.97 million458.71 million₹1.83 trillion · $19.1 billion
May 2025111.05 million467.69 million₹1.9 trillion · $19.8 billion
April 2025110.44 million450.27 million₹1.84 trillion · $19.2 billion
March 2025109.88 million458.65 million₹2.01 trillion · $21 billion
February 2025109.32 million396.96 million₹1.67 trillion · $17.5 billion
January 2025108.87 million430.57 million₹1.84 trillion · $19.2 billion
December 2024108.06 million432.85 million₹1.88 trillion · $19.6 billion
November 2024107.24 million393.6 million₹1.69 trillion · $17.7 billion
October 2024106.89 million433.21 million₹2.02 trillion · $21.1 billion
September 2024106.1 million392.16 million₹1.76 trillion · $18.4 billion
August 2024105.42 million390.05 million₹1.68 trillion · $17.6 billion
July 2024104.57 million383.78 million₹1.73 trillion · $18 billion
June 2024103.81 million357.95 million₹1.59 trillion · $16.6 billion
May 2024103.3 million360.14 million₹1.65 trillion · $17.2 billion
April 2024102.54 million344.15 million₹1.56 trillion · $16.3 billion
March 2024101.8 million343.94 million₹1.64 trillion · $17.2 billion
February 2024100.6 million311.24 million₹1.49 trillion · $15.6 billion
January 202499.5 million328.95 million₹1.66 trillion · $17.4 billion
December 202397.9 million321.5 million₹1.65 trillion · $17.2 billion
November 202396 million297.09 million₹1.61 trillion · $16.8 billion
October 202394.71 million320.05 million₹1.79 trillion · $18.6 billion
September 202393.02 million273.94 million₹1.42 trillion · $14.9 billion
August 202391.28 million290.58 million₹1.49 trillion · $15.5 billion

data.indiadispatch.com

Cards by bank in August 2026

BankCards
HDFC Bank27.1 million
State Bank of India22.96 million
ICICI Bank19.83 million
Axis Bank16.29 million
IDFC First Bank4.95 million
Kotak Mahindra Bank4.89 million
RBL Bank4.69 million
Bank of Baroda3.38 million
Yes Bank3.08 million
IndusInd Bank2.98 million
Federal Bank2.74 million
American Express Banking Corporation1.31 million
Canara Bank1.3 million
Au Small Finance Bank1.13 million
Punjab National Bank1.05 million
Hsbc1.01 million
SBM Bank India767,785
Standard Chartered Bank553,671
Slice Small Finance Bank507,157
Union Bank of India505,934
Unity Small Finance Bank423,628
Utkarsh Small Finance Bank370,405
DBS Bank India330,605
South Indian Bank328,351
Citi Bank281,242
Indian Bank272,318
Indian Overseas Bank198,585
CSB Bank190,112
Jammu and Kashmir Bank173,428
Bank of India152,711
City Union Bank63,167
Suryoday Small Finance Bank57,862
IDBI Bank51,985
Dcb Bank39,512
Equitas Small Finance Bank29,309
Bandhan Bank27,396
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank17,937
Dhanalaxmi Bank12,889
Karur Vysya Bank8,462
Esaf Small Finance Bank8,088
Bank of Maharashtra0
Central Bank of India0
Punjab and Sind Bank0
UCO Bank0
Karnataka Bank0
Nainital Bank0
Bank of America0
Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait B.S.C.0
Barclays Bank Plc0
Deutsche Bank0
Doha Bank Q.P.S.C.0
Keb Hana Bank0
Kookmin Bank0
Woori Bank0
Airtel Payments Bank0
Fino Payments Bank0
India Post Payments Bank0
Jio Payments Bank0
Nsdl Payments Bank0
Capital Small Finance Bank0
Jana Small Finance Bank0
Shivalik Small Finance Bank0
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank0

data.indiadispatch.com

Source: Reserve Bank of India. India Dispatch Research.

Explore all payments indicators · Definitions and conventions