Gold loans just crushed credit card debt in India. The gap is now massive

Gold loans in India have overtaken credit card outstanding by ₹1.6 lakh crore, according to data shared by Zerodha Capital.

On Monday, Zerodha shared a chart based on Reserve Bank of India data. The graph showed bank gold loan outstanding crossing credit card debt in mid-2025 before widening the gap further. Gold loan outstanding now stands at around ₹4.6 lakh crore, roughly 57% higher than credit card dues of nearly ₹3 lakh crore.

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The divergence has accelerated sharply over the past year. While credit card outstanding has largely plateaued after years of steady growth, gold loans have surged rapidly since 2024.

The trend comes amid rising gold prices, tighter scrutiny on unsecured lending by the Reserve Bank, and growing demand for secured loans among households and small businesses. Higher gold prices have also increased the value borrowers can unlock against pledged jewellery.

The chart, which tracks data from 41 select scheduled commercial banks, showed gold loan outstanding rising from below ₹1 lakh crore in 2021 to over ₹4.5 lakh crore in 2026. Credit card debt, meanwhile, climbed steadily from 2017 before flattening around the ₹3 lakh crore mark.

Banks and NBFCs have increasingly shifted focus toward gold-backed lending in recent quarters as regulators tightened norms around unsecured retail credit, including personal loans and credit cards.

Gold loans are generally seen as lower-risk because they are backed by collateral and can be processed quickly.