18 hrs ago

Credit Card Transactions Surge as Average Spending Falls in July

Credit card transactions rise 24% in July, while average spend drops 13.5% to ₹3,460: What’s driving the trend? · livemint.com

In July 2026, people in India used credit cards more often than they did a year earlier.

There were 601 million credit card transactions during the month.

However, total spending grew much more slowly, reaching ₹2.08 lakh crore.

This means each payment was usually smaller than before.

One reason may be that RuPay credit cards connected to UPI are being used for small purchases.

Punjab National Bank showed how UPI-linked credit card payments can increase transaction numbers.

Its credit card transactions rose sharply, although the bank remains a small part of the overall market.

The data does not prove that UPI caused all of the industry-wide increase in transactions.

Key facts

Transactions: 601 million in July 2026, up 24.1% year-on-year.
Total spending: ₹2.08 lakh crore, up 7.4% year-on-year.
Average transaction: ₹3,460, down 13.5% year-on-year.
Average monthly spend per card: ₹16,812, down 2.4% year-on-year and up 2.2% from June.
Punjab National Bank transactions: 5.2 million in July, up 8.9% from June after a six-fold rise in June.
Punjab National Bank spending: Up 173% year-on-year and 8.6% month-on-month in July.
Largest average monthly spend: HDFC Bank led at ₹22,322 per card, followed by State Bank of India at ₹17,392 and ICICI Bank at ₹17,278.

livemint.com · 19 hrs ago