September 2023 was a quieter month for card spending, but a strong one on a yearly view. Credit card spending in India fell 4.2% from August to INR 1.42T, while UPI held steady at 10.6B transactions worth INR 15.8T, up 55.7% in volume from a year earlier. FASTag also kept growing, with volumes up 15% year on year.
This monthly update tracks how India pays across credit cards, UPI and FASTag. It is part of 1Lattice’s market intelligence on banking and financial services.
Key takeaways
- Credit card spending dipped 4.2% month on month, with IndusInd Bank the only major issuer to grow (10.9%).
- UPI was flat month on month but up 55.7% in volume and 41.0% in value year on year.
- P2M payments made up 58.5% of UPI transactions by count, ahead of P2P at 41.4%.
What happened to credit card spending in September 2023?
According to the RBI, credit card spending fell 4.2%, from INR 1.48T in August 2023 to INR 1.42T in September 2023. Spending declined across the major issuers, with one exception: IndusInd Bank, which grew 10.9%.
In our view, the dip likely reflects consumers saving ahead of big-ticket purchases in the festive months of October and November.
How did UPI perform in September 2023?
UPI is fast becoming Indian consumers’ preferred way to pay, both in stores and between individuals, and it is reducing the share of debit cards in the payments mix.
According to NPCI data, UPI was flat month on month in September 2023, at 10.6B transactions worth INR 15.8T. The yearly picture tells the bigger story: volume grew 55.7% and value grew 41.0% compared with September 2022.
How is UPI split between P2P and P2M payments?
By transaction count, person-to-merchant (P2M) payments made up 58.5% of UPI transactions in September 2023. Person-to-person (P2P) payments made up the other 41.4%.
How did FASTag transactions grow in September 2023?
FASTag volumes rose 15% year on year, from 259M in September 2022 to 299M in September 2023. Value grew 20%, from INR 42B to INR 51B.