India’s credit card spending growth slowed to 5.5% year-on-year in August 2026. This was down from 7.1% in July, according to a report by Jefferies. For SBI Cards, the slowdown was sharper. Its spending growth fell to 7% year-on-year from 22% in July. The company’s share of industry spending also dropped, from 19% to 17.5%.

Credit card spending falls 2.8% in August

Total credit card spending across the industry stood at Rs 2 lakh crore in August. This was a 2.8% decline from July, as per the report. SBI Cards’ spending fell even more steeply on a month-on-month basis, down 11%.

The report attributed part of the slowdown at SBI Cards to weaker corporate spending. Point-of-sale spending growth for the company actually improved to 22% in August, up from 16% in July. But online spending told a different story. It fell 1.5% year-on-year, dragged down by a 31% drop in average ticket size.

Credit card additions rise 9.5% in August 

Even as spending slowed, card issuance told a more upbeat story. Industry-wide cards-in-force grew 9.5% year-on-year in August, up from 9.0% in July, taking the total to 122.7 million, the report noted.

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SBI Cards also saw its card growth improve, rising to 7.6% year-on-year from 7.1% in the previous month. The company added 190,000 new cards in August, up from 180,000 in July. Its share of industry-wide net card additions rose to 18%, from 16% a month earlier. Its overall market share in cards-in-force held steady at 19%.

HDFC Bank gains credit card spending share 

Among competitors, HDFC Bank gained ground. Its share of industry spending rose to 30%, up 140 basis points month-on-month, according to the report. ICICI Bank lost share, slipping 40 basis points to 16%. Axis Bank stayed largely unchanged at around 11%.

Card growth also varied across lenders. HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank reported card addition growth of 8% and 9% year-on-year, respectively. Axis Bank grew 6%. IndusInd Bank was the outlier, with a 7% decline.

Online credit card spending share falls in August 

The report flagged a shift away from online transactions in August. SBI Cards’ online spending mix fell 700 basis points month-on-month to 60%. Industry-wide, the online share of spending also fell, though by a smaller 300 basis points, to 61%.

SBI Cards’ share of online spends dropped to 17%, from 20% in July. Its share of point-of-sale spends held steady at 18%.

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SBI Cards spending per card drops to Rs 15,400 

Spending per card at SBI Cards fell to Rs 15,400 in August, down from Rs 17,400 in July. This was below the industry average of Rs 16,400, the report said. The company’s overall ticket size dropped 23% month-on-month to Rs 2,400. Its point-of-sale ticket size, however, rose 2% to Rs 5,400, well above the industry average of Rs 2,600.

Credit cards’ share of digital spending falls to 4.5% 

Retail digital spending, excluding NEFT transactions, grew 18% year-on-year to Rs44.8 trillion in August, matching July’s growth rate. But credit cards’ share of this pie shrank. It stood at 4.5%, down 50 basis points year-on-year and 20 basis points from the previous month, according to the report.

Separately, the industry’s receivables-to-spending ratio, measured on a trailing three-month basis, fell 20 basis points month-on-month to 12.2% in July. The report said this points to weaker conversion of spending growth into asset growth.

Outlook stays mixed

The August data points to a slowdown in spending even as card issuance holds up. For SBI Cards, the divergence is sharper than for the industry. Card additions are improving, but its spending share and per-card spends are both under pressure. Corporate spending weakness, reflected in lower online ticket sizes, remains a key factor to watch in the coming months, the report said.