Axis Bank’s share of the market in the credit card company increased to 14.2% in March 2023 from 11.7% in February following its acquisition of Citibank’s credit card portfolio. Citibank had a 2.7% share of the total credit cards in the country until the acquisition. According to data released by the RBI, the number of credit cards in the country stood at 8.5 crore as of the end of March 2023, up from 8.3 crore in the month of February 2023. Axis Bank’s debit card base has increased from 2.9 crore as of February 2023 to 3 crore in March 2023 following the amalgamation of Citibank’s retail business. The bank has added over 11 lakh debit cards, which is a reflection of the increase in savings bank accounts.

HDFC Bank is the largest credit card issuer with 1.75 crore cards and a 20.5% market share, which is down from 20.7% in February 2023. SBI, which issues credit cards through its subsidiary, has a 19.7% market share which is marginally lower than 19.8% in February. ICICI Bank, which is the third-largest issuer, has improved its market share to 16.9% from 16.5% last month. 

For Axis Bank, the gains on credit card spends have also been significant after the Citi acquisition. The private lender now has a 14.2% share of card spends, up from 11.7%. HDFC Bank continues to have a lion’s share of spending at 27% followed by SBI 17.9% and ICICI Bank 17.4%. According to RBI data, total credit card spend stood at Rs 1,37,000 crore.

Among the large issuers, HDFC Bank’s credit card spends increased month on month by 14%. SBI’s spends rose 11%, while ICICI Bank recorded the second-biggest jump of 20%. Axis Bank recorded a 54% expansion in spending thanks to the acquisition.