Introduction

In the fiscal year 2024, the top 4 credit card issuers in India experienced a decrease in their market share, both in terms of monthly card spends and total cards outstanding. This decline was attributed to the expansion of the overall spends base and the accelerated growth witnessed by mid-sized players in the industry.

Market Share Analysis

According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India, the combined market share of the top 4 issuers – HDFC Bank, SBI Card, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank – dropped to 71.98% as of March 2024 from 74.79% a year earlier. In contrast, the market share of the next 10 issuers, ranked 5 to 14, increased to 24.85% during the same period.

The overall credit card spends for March 2024 amounted to ₹1.6-lakh crore, registering a 19.8% year-on-year increase and a 10.2% month-on-month increase. Notably, the spending by the top 4 issuers saw a growth of 8-14% compared to the previous month.

Cards-in-Force Analysis

During FY24, the credit card industry witnessed a net addition of 1.6 crore cards, with the top 4 issuers contributing 97.62 lakh cards to this total. The total number of cards outstanding reached 10.18 crore by the end of FY24, with a net addition of 12.02 lakh cards in March 2024.

Although the top 4 issuers saw an increase in the number of cards-in-force to 7.06 crore by March 2024, their market share in this segment decreased to 69.40% from 71.37% in the previous year. Conversely, the next 10 issuers’ market share rose to 25.04% with 2.55 crore cards.

The remaining issuers also experienced growth in their market share, reaching 5.56% as of March 2024. The total number of cards outstanding for these issuers increased to 57 lakh from 45 lakh in the previous year.

Published on May 1, 2024