CREDIT CARDS | MORGAN STANLEY DATA
Industry Update
- Credit-card spend growth continues to decelerate.
- Spend growth fell from 22.5% YoY in Mar-25 to 8.9% in Mar-26.
- July-26 spend growth further moderated to 7.4% YoY.
- Cards-in-force grew 10% YoY in July-26.
- Card additions are growing faster than overall spends.
Market Share
- SBI Card and HDFC Bank gained the most monthly spend market share.
- ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank lost the most market share.
- Competitive dynamics remain mixed across major issuers.
Spending Trends
- Spend per card declined 2.4% YoY in July-26.
- Decline in spend per card continues for the 10th consecutive month.
- Transaction growth remains strong.
- Transactions are growing faster than total spends.
- Indicates a shift towards smaller and more frequent transactions.
Key Takeaway
- Credit-card ecosystem continues to expand, but spend growth is slowing.
- Rising card count is not translating into higher spend per card.
- Smaller, more frequent transactions are driving transaction growth.
August 26, 2026 85
