The most valuable credit cardholders are not from HDFC, SBI, Citi or other major credit card companies

• Credit card usage in India has surpassed debit card usage, crossing the ₹1 lakh crore per month mark.
• On an average, credit card users spend ₹14,500 per month.
• However, what defines a credit card company’s quality of cardholders? And which company has the most valuable cardholders? We find out.

When you think of credit cards, the first few names that pop up in your mind are most likely HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Citi, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and perhaps even Kotak Mahindra Bank. But did you know none of these credit card issuers have the most valuable credit cardholders?

In fact, none of them rank in the top five when it comes to two critical metrics – the most valuable customers in terms of both value per transaction, and value per cardholder.

According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India, Citi India, which is usually considered as having the most valuable credit cardholders in India, is eighth on the list.


The surprising topper in both the lists is IndusInd Bank, which processed nearly ₹5,700 crore worth of credit card transactions in the month of March 2022. While this pales in comparison to market leaders like HDFC Bank and State Bank of India, it shows that the quality of credit cardholders of IndusInd Bank is relatively better.


The value per cardholder metric is important, too, since it shows how much each card holder was worth in March 2022.


However, when it comes to the overall market share, HDFC Bank continues to assert its dominance, with 22%. Three out of every four credit cards come from these top five credit card issuers in India.


In terms of the total value of transactions, though, HDFC Bank cornered 27% market share – every ₹1 out of ₹4 credit card spends were made using an HDFC Bank credit card.

IndusInd Bank shows up on this list, too – albeit at the fifth place with a share of a mere 5%.


On an average, Indian credit card users $4, with a major part of those spends being on online transactions.

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