In what could have been an impact of economic slowdown, the payments made through credit card declined about 15 per cent in the first two months of the current financial year compared to the same period last year.
During April and May, the payments made through credit card stood at Rs 9,748 crore against Rs 11,193 crore in the first two months of the last financial year, according to RBI latest bulletin.
In April this year, card payments worth Rs 4,932 crore were made while the amount stood at Rs 4,815 crore for May. Analysts said the decline in payment may be due to adverse impact of financial meltdown on India, as plastic money could be the first casualty in developing country like India.
However, it could also be because some banks reduced credit limits given in cards. “The credit card payments are down because the maximum amount limit given by banks could have been reduced,” said an economist with a leading bank requesting anonymity.
During the first two months of of the current financial year, the number of such cards issued by banks has also reduced to 4.84 crore against 5.5 crore during the same period in the last financial year.
However, the payments made through debit cards have increased by more than 40 per cent during April and May this year compared to these two months in 2008-09.
The debit card payment increased to Rs 3,665 crore in the first two months of 2009-10 from Rs 2,599 crore during the same period last year.