For FY26, spending growth moderated to 12.0% y-o-y to reach Rs 23.6 lakh crore. The credit card spend in the month of March witnessed a significant uptick with spending increasing by 23.8% on a month-on-month basis to Rs 2.20 lakh crore, in line with typical fiscal year-end seasonality and supported by resilient e-commerce demand, said a report released by Care Edge Ratings. However, year-on-year growth remained subdued at 9.0% versus 22.4% in March 2025, primarily due to the base effect. For FY26, spending growth moderated to 12.0% y-o-y to reach Rs 23.6 lakh crore, compared with a stronger 21.1% expansion in FY25, suggesting a gradual normalisation in credit card usage. In terms of credit card base, the report highlighted that it expanded from 11.0 crore in March 2025 to 11.9 crore in March 2026, reflecting continued deepening of card penetration across the system. Despite this broad-based expansion, the market structure remains highly concentrated, with a limited set of dominant issuers, primarily three large private sector banks and five major public sector banks, together accounting for nearly 80% of the total cards in circulation, underscoring their strong distribution capabilities and entrenched market position. As per Care Edge Ratings, the share of Private sector banks (PVBs) continue to lead the credit card spending landscape, accounting for 72.6% of total spends in March 2026. However, their share has been on a softening trajectory, with a 315-bps y-o-y moderation. In contrast, public sector banks (PSBs) are steadily gaining ground, supported by deeper penetration into tier-2 and tier-3 markets, which is driving incremental customer acquisition. Private banks experienced a 4.0% y-o-y decline in average spends per card to Rs 18,948, indicating some moderation in high-value discretionary usage. Meanwhile, PSBs continue to report a healthy 17% increase in per-card spending to Rs 16,847, reflecting improved customer engagement and the increasing use of UPI-based credit. The total outstanding credit card base rose to 11.9 crore as of March 2026, registering a growth of 8.0% yo-y and 0.8% m-o-m. The expansion was primarily driven by PSBs, which recorded a robust 11.3% y-o-y increase, supported by their deeper distribution reach and increasing traction through co-branded partnerships with e-commerce and fintech players. Within the PSB segment, the SBI Group continued to anchor growth, with its outstanding card base rising by 6.1% y-o-y to 2.21 crore cards. Foreign banks continued to rationalise their card portfolios, with outstanding cards declining by 5.4% y-o-y, the report said. This contraction partly reflects strategic recalibration, including portfolio rundowns and structural shifts such as portfolio transfers, leading to migration of card bases towards domestic players. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Business, Economy and around the World. Vikas Kumar is Deputy Editor (Business) at Times Now driving coverage across policy, economy and markets. He possesses nearly a decade of experience i... View More