Summary of this article
Credit card transactions surge, debit card use dips, reveals RBI report.
UPI leads in low-value digital transactions.
Private banks dominate credit card market share.
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Payment Systems Report for June 2025 indicates a steep rise in credit card usage. Credit card transactions in 2024 stood at 447 crore with a total value of Rs 20.4 lakh crore. In the first half of 2025, credit card transactions alone amounted to 266 crore and were worth Rs 11.1 lakh crore.
The report states that private sector banks have the highest proportion of outstanding credit cards. From June 2020 to June 2025 the private banks' proportion in outstanding credit cards increased from 65.8 per cent to 70.8 per cent. Public sector banks and small finance banks also issued cards, while foreign banks' share decreased.
Credit cards also represented an increasing share of point-of-sale and online transactions during the time period reported. The statistics indicate that credit cards have become a leading tool for more valuable retail transactions and online purchases.
Debit Card Use Declines
Debit card usage has declined consistently since 2019, as per RBI report. Transactions went down from 495 crore in 2019 to 174 crore in 2024. Debit card transaction value also reduced, from Rs 6.83 lakh crore in 2019 to Rs 5.15 lakh crore in 2024. In the first half of 2025, debit card transactions were 69 crore, amounting to Rs 2.22 lakh crore.
The report notes that, though outstanding debit cards outnumber outstanding credit cards, their payment usage has declined. Debit cards are still distributed aggressively by public sector banks, yet public sector banks' share in debit cards declined from 70.6 per cent in June 2020 to 63.5 per cent in June 2025 as private and other banks picked up issuance.
The RBI figures indicate that debit cards are used for cash withdrawals and as a mere banking utility instead of everyday digital shopping.
UPI Dominates Low-Value Payments
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continues to be the leading channel of retail payments by volume. UPI handled 10,637 crore transactions during the first half of 2025 with a value of Rs 143.3 lakh crore. In terms of volumes, UPI represented around 85 per cent of overall payment transactions during the same period.
Infrastructure And Market Shares
The payments infrastructure has grown with usage changes. Point-of-sale terminals grew to 117.91 lakh by June 2025, from 100.01 lakh as of end-2024. Other acceptance points and UPI QR codes also grew during this period.
As on June 2025, there were approximately 111.64 crore cards outstanding in the country as a whole, of which 11.12 crore were credit cards and 100.52 crore were debit cards. There has been greater issue of debit cards, but usage data indicate a turn away from cards for retail purchases.
The report documents changes in bank group shares. Private banks expanded their presence in the credit card segment, and public sector banks are still the largest issuers of debit cards, though their share fell modestly.
Total Digital Payment Growth
India's digital payments kept growing in size and value. Volumes of digital transactions increased from slightly more than 3,200 crore in 2019 to more than 20,800 crore in 2024. Total payment transactions totalled 12,549 crore and total value was Rs 1,572 lakh crore for the first half of 2025.
The RBI report credits the growth to wider acceptance of infrastructure, regulatory encouragement and increasing user adoption of quick payment systems.
