Whalesbook
Dekho, pehle kya hota tha ki India mein credit card users mein se 40% se 45% log aise the jo apna pura bill time pe nahi bharte the, interest dete the aur banks ki achhi khasi kamai hoti thi. Lekin ab ye number gir kar sirf 22% se 24% reh gaya hai! Matlab ab zyada log time pe pura payment kar rahe hain, jinhe 'transactors' bolte hain. Isse banks ka interest income ka source jo pehle zabardast tha, woh kam ho gaya hai.
Iska impact ye hai ki SBI Cards jaisi company ne apne 'revolver rate' ko 34% se girakar 22% kar diya hai. Waise, overall credit card transactions badhe hain, 2021 se 2025 ke beech 2.6x ho gaye hain, matlab 570 crore transactions aur ₹23.2 lakh crore ka value 2025 tak. Private banks ne bhi apna share 71.1% tak badha liya hai. Lekin haan, naye card issues hone ki speed thodi slow ho gayi hai, Q2 FY26 mein toh 28% tak kam ho gayi thi.
Ab jab interest se kamayi kam ho rahi hai, toh ICICI Bank aur Kotak Mahindra Bank jaise banks dusre tareekon par focus kar rahe hain. Transaction volume badhana, EMI plans lana, aur fee-based income increase karna ab main agenda hai. UPI se jude credit cards ab 40% transactions kar rahe hain, aur RuPay cards bhi chal rahe hain.
Par bhai, risks bhi hain. Zyada log loan le rahe hain toh NPAs bhi badh rahe hain. Is wajah se RBI ne unsecured loans par risk weight 150% tak badha diya hai. Isse banks ne card issue karna kam kar diya hai, jo pehle 20% se zyada growth dikha raha tha, woh ab sirf 4% tak aa gaya hai.
Aur woh rewards aur cashback jo banks deti thi na, ab woh bhi kam ho rahe hain. ICICI Bank jaise banks lounge access, cashback limit kar rahe hain, kyunki operating costs aur late payments badh gaye hain. Credit card interest rates abhi bhi 30% se 48% tak hain.
SBI Cards jo ek specialised company hai, woh 27.5 ke P/E par trade kar rahi hai, jabki ICICI Bank 16.5-17.8 aur Kotak Mahindra Bank ~20 ke P/E par hain. Isse pata chalta hai ki market in challenges ko consider kar raha hai.
Toh overall, India ka credit card market interest income se transaction volume aur fees ki taraf ja raha hai. Banks ab naye customers acquire karne mein thoda cautious ho gaye hain aur existing customers par zyada focus kar rahe hain. Risk management aur innovation future mein important hoga.