Credit Card Wars
HDFC vs SBI vs ICICI vs Axis: a decade of credit card competition across India's top banks. RBI bans, mergers, and devaluations have reshaped the market.
26.3M
#1 HDFC
22.0M
#2 SBI
18.9M
#3 ICICI
15.9M
#4 Axis
RBI bans are reshaping the market
When the RBI banned HDFC from issuing new cards (Dec 2020 - Aug 2021), competitors like SBI and ICICI surged to fill the gap. History repeated with Kotak in April 2024 - down 23% from its peak of 6M cards and still falling.
Devaluation kills cards faster than bans
RBL Bank wasn't banned - it chose to slash rewards, add spend requirements, and introduce new fees in mid-2024. Customers voted with their feet: 5.3M cards down to 4.6M (-13%) in 18 months.
Bank of Baroda: the quiet 260% surge
The biggest percentage gainer isn't a private bank - it's PSU lender Bank of Baroda, which grew from 0.9M to 3.1M cards since Jan 2022 (+260%), fueled by its massive branch network.
India crossed 100M credit cards in Feb 2024
From just 25 million cards a decade ago to over 100 million in February 2024 - a 12% CAGR. Yet penetration remains under 8% of the population.