New bank card issuances recovered from the current hunch to hit a four-month excessive in Could with greater than 760,000 new playing cards added. Nonetheless, the variety of playing cards added was similar to the identical interval within the prior yr.
The amount of bank card transactions elevated by 4% month-on-month and almost 30% year-on-year in Could. The entire variety of bank cards in circulation surpassed 110 million, marking an 8% year-on-year enhance in Could 2025 from a yr earlier.
“We count on card spends to stay steady in FY26 supported by consumption tailwinds,” mentioned Bunty Chand, analyst at IDBI Capital. “Web new card additions is anticipated to see some enchancment in FY26 although lenders will prioritise on higher credit score high quality in addition to concentrate on cross-sell to present prospects reasonably than aggressive acquisitions.”
Amongst main gamers, HDFC Financial institution’s bank card spends have been flat in comparison with April, whereas SBI Playing cards noticed a ten% sequential enhance. RBL Financial institution reported a 9% rise in spends and Axis Financial institution registered a 6% progress. On the issuance entrance, HDFC Financial institution led with 274,000 new playing cards, adopted by SBI Playing cards with 126,000 and Axis Financial institution with simply over 100,000.
IDFC First Financial institution added almost 75,000 new playing cards.
Not all lenders noticed optimistic traction. ICICI Financial institution noticed its bank card base decline by greater than 31,000 playing cards, whereas RBL Financial institution misplaced over 40,000 playing cards. IndusInd Financial institution added fewer than 8,000 playing cards through the month, indicating a cautious method amidst its troubles.
“A number of the extra aggressive Tier 1 and mid-sized banks have began pulling again from the market,” mentioned Prakash Agarwal, associate at consulting agency Gefion Capital. “They’ve largely saturated the top-tier buyer base by means of add-on playing cards, and their foray into the middle-income section hasn’t delivered the anticipated outcomes. Because of this, banks at the moment are being extra cautious in buying new prospects.”