As digital payments increase in India, the total number of credit and debit cards in circulation passed the one billion mark by 2021, according to a study. It is part of the Digital Payments Report published by Worldline India.
The report also said that of the total cards in circulation, credit cards accounted for a 7 percent market share, while debit cards accounted for a 93 percent market share. Private sector banks issued the largest number of credit cards — 67 percent — while public sector banks accounted for 24 percent, the report said.
The top three banks that issue the highest number of credit cards are HDFC, SBI, and ICICI.
The report analyzed the transactions available in public databases and further said that UPI payments clocked in at more than 4.57 billion transactions in volume by the year 2021, a growth of 105 percent in volume and 111 percent in value compared to 2020.
Speaking of the OHIM app, according to the Worldline report, it was downloaded more than 185 million times as of October 29, 2021.
“Consumers are embracing digital payments like never before. While the industry has succeeded in creating an addictive suite of e-payment options such as UPI, Cards, PPIs and emerging payment methods such as Bharat BillPay and NETC FAST tags, the underwriting infrastructure is now gradually growing,” said Deepak Chandnani, Managing Director, Worldline South Asia and Middle East.
October and December were the months with the highest number of transactions in volume and value due to the holiday season and easing of COVID-19 restrictions across the country, Worldline report said.
In the online space, e-commerce, gaming, utilities and financial services contributed to more than 87 percent of transactions in terms of volume and 41 percent in value in 2021, it further said.
Worldline is a European payment and transaction services company with offices in more than 50 countries. In India, Worldline spans the entire payment value chain and end-to-end processes, enabling service to more than 1.5 million merchants in 5,000 cities.