Total credit card spends stood at ₹2.02 lakh crore last month against ₹1.90 lakh crore in May 2025 and ₹1.97 lakh crore in April 2026. While it suggests some normalisation in consumer spending after the typical April dip, the May spending remained significantly below ₹2.19 lakh crore in March.
Total cards in force rose 8.3% year-on-year from 111.20 million in May 2025.
“Industry growth continues to remain in the high single-digit range, with issuers maintaining a calibrated approach towards unsecured lending amid tighter underwriting standards and regulatory oversight,” said Sweta Padhi, analyst at IDBI Capital. “Also, ongoing reward devaluations and spend linked benefit structures across major issuers indicate continued focus on profitability and cost rationalisation.”
The spending per card improved marginally month-on-month to approximately ₹16,778 in May versus ₹16,495 in April, and experts believe increasing adoption will push growth in the industry.
“The near-term outlook for the credit card industry remains stable, supported by rising digital adoption, expanding merchant acceptance, and continued retail consumption,” said Saurabh Bhalerao, associate director, BFSI research, at CareEdge Ratings. “However, stress in select unsecured retail segments, particularly lower-ticket and revolving credit portfolios, and evolving asset quality trends remain a key monitorable.”
He expects banks “to maintain a cautious and calibrated approach towards card sourcing, underwriting, credit line expansion, and monitoring of borrower overlaps across personal loans, consumer durable financing, and credit cards.”SBI Cards emerged as the top card issuer in May, adding 181,851 net new cards, its strongest monthly performance in the recent series, overtaking ICICI Bank which had topped the chart in April.
ICICI Bank came second with 168,344 additions, followed by HDFC Bank at 142,297.
IDFC First Bank and Federal Bank maintained their strong mid-tier momentum, adding 87,227 and 106,861 cards, respectively.