HDFC Becomes 1st Bank To Hit 2 Crore Credit Cards Achievement

HDFC has crossed the magical number of two crore credit cards in force, the company said in a statement. With 9.6 crore cards issued by banks overall, the private lender holds 21% market share, according to RBI data. According to the bank, as of March 31, 2023, its proportion of spending will be 28.6%.

Among the largest banks in India, HDFC Bank was one of the last and the latest banks to introduce credit cards. In 1997, SBI began offering credit cards; ICICI Bank followed in 2000, and HDFC Bank launched the card in 2001. The bank started out by concentrating mostly on its current consumers, developed a large merchant acquisition business, and steadily increased its portfolio even as other banks began to slow down in the lieu of the global financial crisis.

In the 1990s, Citibank controlled the majority of the Indian credit card business. As private banks gained broad distribution, foreign banks saw a decline in market share.