Credit card issuance grew by 1.26 million net additions in July from June, or by 11.5%, even as spends crossed Rs 2 trillion for the third consecutive month.

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, credit card spends rose 7.4% over the earlier year to Rs 2.08 trillion in July, up 7.4% from Rs 1.93 trillion a year ago, and 3.4% higher than the preceding June figure of Rs 2.01 trillion. Spending had hit an all-time high of Rs 2.18 trillion in March 2026.

The number of credit cards outstanding increased to 122.86 million in July from 121.6 million in June and 111.62 million in July 2025. 

According to RBI data, private and public sector banks saw strong growth to their card base during this period while foreign banks posted a decline in outstanding cards. Though the credit card base for foreign banks fell by 0.12 million to 4.24 million in July, spending from these cards rose to Rs 9,000 crore.

Private banks took their credit card base to 86.91 million, adding 3.9 million cards in the period between January and July. Spends for them stood at Rs 1.50 trillion.

Public sector banks grew their base to 29.40 million, adding 1.55 million cards during this period. 

HDFC Bank stayed as the country’s leading credit-card player, adding 230,067 cards during the month to take its total base to 26.97 million. For the private lender, credit card spends stood at Rs 60,217.54 crore, up 11.93% year-on-year.

SBI Card stood second, adding 183,076 cards to take its total base to 22.76 million. It saw a 21.6% rise in spends to Rs 39,591.76 crore. 

ICICI Bank’s card spends fell 5.9% YoY to Rs 34,025.27 crore even as it added 170,156 cards to take its base to 19.69 million. 

Axis Bank added 70,091 cards, taking its outstanding card base to 16.26 million. It saw a modest rise of 4.6% in spends to Rs 23,824.7 crore.