Business: Till a few years ago, people used to go through a lot of trouble to get a credit card. Having a credit card was also considered a symbol of a person's prosperity. But now the situation is changing. Due to the strictness of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the new rules, the spending from credit cards is now decreasing rapidly. The discounts and offers available on credit cards are also not able to entice people now. The situation is such that compared to the financial year 2022, the spending from credit cards in this financial year has remained only one-third. This is being seen in every financial year. 

The growth rate of spending through credit cards remained at just 16.6%

According to a Business Standard report based on data from Macquarie Research, the growth rate of credit card spending was 54.1 per cent in FY 2022. After this, it was 47.5 per cent in FY 2023 and the figure dropped to 27.8 per cent in FY 2024. The growth rate of credit card spending has been only 16.6 per cent this financial year. The action being taken by the RBI against unsecured loans has had a bad impact on credit card spending. Every year, during the festive season from September to December, credit card spending used to reach its peak. But this year it does not seem to be happening. 

There is also a big drop in the rate of adding new credit cards 

According to the report, ICICI Bank's credit card portfolio declined by 4.4 percent in FY 2024. Earlier it was declining by 3.2 percent year-on-year. Similarly, the credit loss of SBI Cards was 7.4 percent in FY 2024 and 6.2 percent in FY 2023. Macquarie Research said in its report that we expect the slowdown in credit growth to continue given the impact of strict scrutiny and new RBI rules. Banks have also indicated increased stress in their credit card portfolios. The rate of addition of new credit cards in FY 2025 till August has also come down to 38.3 percent. In FY 2024, it was growing at the rate of 41.3 percent.