E-commerce is one reason behind the increasing usage of plastic money explains Sridharan. “The rise in online transactions across sectors has encouraged more people to come online and transact. Moreover, once people start, they understand the convenience factor that comes with it and that is why more and more people are using it and spending via it,” he added. But Sumant Kathpalia, head of consumer banking at IndusInd Bank, gave another reason; according to her increase in the offers being doled out attract consumers, leading to several people increasingly using credit cards for shopping and other services. Credit card spending for IndusInd, rose to 21 per cent over a year as of this April.

Not only credit card spending but also the credit card limits for the consumers have been going up said an executive with a public sector bank. “Card spends are increasing and most consumers are not even revolving the card dues. As a result, banks have been more relaxed on increasing the credit limit for consumers,” he added, requesting anonymity. He also added that the credit limit was being increased by 10-15 per cent and was higher by up to 20-25 per cent for high spenders with a good credit history.

According to a Worldline India report, an entity in payments and transactional services, in the number of credit cards in the market, HDFC Bank leads with a 27 per cent share, followed by ICICI Bank at 17 per cent and SBI Cards at 15 per cent.