Credit cards in India: a land of opportunity?
Credit card penetration in India was 4.6 percent in 2021, a percentage far lower than many other big countries. Statista estimates that India’s penetration rate will increase, although by only a few percentage points. In earlier years, the credit card volume in India would grow by over 20 percent between 2019 and 2020. Since 2020, however, Indian banks started to demand higher credit scores from potential credit card customers. The growing popularity of digital wallets such as UPI - making India the biggest real-time payments market worldwide - also added significant competition to credit cards in the country.Cost of living and credit card debt
Financial hardship and the growing cost of living led consumers to use credit cards more often. U.S. credit card balances in early 2023 were nearly one trillion U.S. dollars, a sizable increase compared to previous years. Up until 2021, borrowers tried to pay off their debts as purchasing products in physical stores was hampered by lockdown measures. The same development occurred in the United Kingdom: Outstanding balances on credit card accounts in the UK increased for several months since 2022. In contrast to this development is the rise of buy now, pay later or BNPL, which might not always impact credit scores. As of 2022, the market share of BNPL in overall e-commerce payments across multiple countries worldwide was relatively highest in northwestern Europe.
