Credit card spends slip 2.7% in January despite steady card additions: Report

India’s credit card spending moderated in January 2026 even as card issuance remained robust, pointing to signs of spend redistribution rather than fresh consumption growth, according to the Monthly Credit Card Insights – January 2026 report by Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates Ltd.

Total credit card spends declined 2.7% month-on-month (MoM) to ₹1,99,000 crore in January, down ₹5,600 crore from December 2025. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, however, spending was still higher by 8.1%, indicating continued expansion compared to last year, albeit at a moderated pace.

Top banks drive spending decline

The bulk of the sequential decline was concentrated among the top four banks — SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank — which together accounted for 87.5% of the total MoM reduction in spends.

SBI reported the steepest fall, with spending down ₹1,870 crore (-4.7% MoM). ICICI Bank followed with a ₹1,690 crore drop (-4.6% MoM), while HDFC Bank and Axis Bank saw declines of ₹720 crore (-1.3% MoM) and ₹630 crore (-2.7% MoM), respectively.

Spending weakness was broad-based across channels, with online spends falling 2.5% and point-of-sale (POS) spends declining 3.17% on a monthly basis.

Transaction volumes

Transaction volumes stood at 537 million in January, largely flat compared to December. However, on a YoY basis, volumes were up 24.9%, though this growth rate remains lower than historic trends.

Among major banks, SBI recorded a 1.2% MoM increase in transaction volumes, while ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank reported marginal sequential declines. Despite the softer overall environment, SBI gained 22 basis points in transaction-volume market share.

Market share shifts

In terms of spending market share, HDFC Bank emerged as a relative gainer. The bank increased its share by 43 basis points MoM, taking it to 28.4%, supported by a comparatively milder decline in spends. In contrast, SBI lost 39 basis points, and ICICI Bank shed 34 basis points during the month.

The top four banks collectively accounted for 76.5% of total industry spending, underscoring continued concentration within the credit card ecosystem.

Mid-sized banks showed selective resilience. Yes Bank posted a 1.8% MoM growth in spends, while Federal Bank reported 2% MoM growth, albeit on a smaller base.

Card issuance

Even as spending moderated, card issuance remained healthy. The industry added 0.87 million new cards in January, taking total cards in force to 116.7 million.

HDFC Bank led new issuances with 0.31 million additions, followed by ICICI Bank at 0.12 million. Among mid-sized lenders, Federal Bank demonstrated aggressive expansion, adding around 0.12 million cards during the month and recording 83% YoY growth in its card base. IDFC First Bank also continued to scale, with 30% YoY growth in its portfolio.

Falling spend per card

Average spend per card declined 3.5% MoM to ₹17,060 in January. Additionally, average spend per transaction fell 3% MoM and 13% YoY, suggesting a shift toward smaller ticket-size purchases.

The report concludes that while cards-in-force continue to expand, aggregate spends and transaction volumes have not grown proportionately. This indicates that incremental cards are likely being issued to existing customers, leading to spend redistribution across multiple cards rather than meaningful expansion in the industry’s consumption base.

In essence, portfolio expansion appears to be driven more by cross-sell strategies than by deepening of the customer base.