Indian consumers made 19.3 million credit card transactions in November, down 6.3% from 20.6 million during the same month last year, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Credit card sales volume declined 1.9%, to 52.6 billion rupees (US$1.1 billion or 795.3 million euros) from 53.6 billion rupees.
Debit card use in November, however, increased 34.3%, to 14.1 million transaction from 10.5 million, the central bank says. The value of those transactions increased 44.9%, to 22.6 billion rupees in November from 15.6 billion rupees.
Indian financial institutions issued 165.8 million debit and 20.8 million credit cards as of Nov. 30, the central bank says.
“Indians are conservative by nature and loath the idea of credit,” says Mrinalini Manral, an analyst with Mumbai-based electronic payments research firm Dassler Business Intelligence. “Over the past few years, banks in India had issued credit cards without much due diligence.”
Moreover, “as the economic crisis unfolded, many of those who did not have that necessary repayment capability have stopped using their cards completely,” she adds.
