Credit card spending in India increased by 2.6 per cent month-on-month to Rs 2.02 trillion in May 2026, and is expected to remain in the range of Rs 2.0 trillion to Rs 2.1 trillion in June, according to a report by Equirus Securities.
Digital Payment Adoption Continues to Strengthen
The report highlighted continued strength in digital payment adoption, with overall digital payments to merchants rising around 21 per cent year-on-year to Rs 11.3 trillion in May. UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) spending rose 25.2 per cent year-on-year, while credit card spending increased 6.6 per cent. "UPI P2M/credit card transactions increased 25.2%/6.6% yoy to Rs 8.7trn/Rs 2.02trn," the report said.
UPI Dominates Merchant Digital Payments
UPI P2M transactions continued to dominate merchant digital payments, accounting for 77.1 per cent of the total in May 2026, an increase of 286 basis points compared with the same period a year earlier. In contrast, the share of credit card spending in overall merchant digital payments stood at 17.9 per cent, reflecting a decline of 235 basis points year-on-year.
Credit Card Base and Issuer Market Share
The number of credit cards in force (CIF) increased by 1.018 million during the month, taking the total outstanding card base to 120.5 million. The top four credit card issuers saw their combined share of cards in force decline by around 14 basis points month-on-month in May 2026, while their share of total credit card spending fell by about 31 basis points, the report said.
E-commerce and Average Spending Patterns
E-commerce accounted for 62.4 per cent of total credit card spending in May 2026, largely unchanged from 62.6 per cent in the previous month. Average monthly spending per credit card stood at around Rs 10,500 for e-commerce transactions and Rs 6,300 for point-of-sale (POS) purchases. However, the average e-commerce transaction value was higher at about Rs 4,300, compared with around Rs 2,600 for POS transactions.
Outlook for June 2026
Based on the Reserve Bank of India's daily payment statistics, the report expects credit card spending in June 2026 to remain broadly stable, likely in the range of Rs 2.0 trillion to Rs 2.1 trillion. "Based on RBI's daily data on payment statistics, we expect Jun'26 credit card spends at Rs 2.0-2.1 trn," it added.
