Growth in credit card portfolio moderates in FY25

As per the data, total portfolio of banks under credit cards increased by 11.2 per cent at ₹28,7047 crore in FY 25 as on February compared to ₹2,58,107 crore in the same period last year

The growth in the outstanding portfolio under credit cards has moderated in the financial year ended March 2025 significantly to about 11 per cent compared to the previous financial year as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

As per the data, total portfolio of banks under credit cards increased by 11.2 per cent at ₹2,87,047 crore in FY25 as on February compared to ₹2,58,107 crore in the same period last year. The growth in FY25 was lowest in the last three years as the outstanding bank credit under cards grew by 31 per cent in FY24 and 29.2 per cent in FY23.

Moderation in growth

The moderation in growth is also reflected in individual data of some banks. The ICICI Bank reported 11.7 per cent increase in credit card portfolio in FY25 against 35.6 per cent in the previous year. SBI Card witnessed a 6 per cent decline in the number of new accounts in the last financial year compared to the previous fiscal. 

According to Bibekananda Panda, Senior Economist, State Bank of India, the moderation in credit card outstanding growth stemmed from the RBI’s decision on November 16, 2023, to curb rapid growth in unsecured consumer credit and safeguard financial stability. 

“By increasing risk weights on credit card receivables — from 125 per cent to 150 per cent for scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) and from 100 per cent to 125 per cent for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs )— the RBI imposed higher capital requirements, discouraging lenders from expanding aggressively,’‘ Panda said.

In its February 25, 2025, announcement, the RBI restored risk weights on bank loans to NBFCs but kept credit card risk weights unchanged, reinforcing its stance on financial prudence, he added.

According to a senior economist with a private bank, the expecting easing of policy rates further in FY25-26 by the RBI and the normalisation of the impact of increase of risk weights on credit card receivables are expected push growth in the card segment in the current financial year.

Published on May 20, 2025

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}