Credit cards are taking the lead in India, leaving debit cards in the dust

In a fascinating twist in India's payment saga, credit cards have taken centre stage, outshining their debit card counterparts, according to recent data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It seems that the plastic revolution has taken a new turn, with credit card transactions soaring to new heights.

In April of this year, a whopping 250 million merchant payment transactions were made using credit cards, leaving debit card payments in the dust at 220 million. But that's not all—when it comes to the value of transactions, credit cards flexed their financial muscles, racking up a staggering Rs 1.3 trillion, while debit cards could only muster Rs 53,000 crore.

It's clear that credit cards have been pumping iron, with a 20% surge in swipes over the past year, while their debit card counterparts experienced a rather unfortunate 31% decline. The number of credit cards in the country is also multiplying, reaching an impressive 86 million, up from 75 million just a year ago and less than five million a mere three years ago, as the Techloy chart below shows.