The number of credit and debit cards in India is steadily rising but Indians still prefer debit cards over credit cards. In October 2016, a total of 27.3 million credit cards and 739.3 million debit cards were in operation, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Between October 2015 and October 2016, India added some 0.49 million credit cards and added 11.08 million debit cards. While the number of cards is increasing slowly, people are gradually becoming more comfortable in using them as well, and there’s an increase in their usage. 1. Number of transactions on credit cards grew by 28.9% while it rose by 40% for debit cards for the year ending October 2016. In October, total number of transactions through credit cards were 88.86 million while the figure for debit cards was 140.59 million. 2. Average amount transacted per transaction on credit cards — which is an indication of how much amount people are willing to spend in one transaction — increased by 7.32% between October 2015 and October 2016. For debit cards, it grew by 11.6% during the same time period. 3. Total amount transacted through credit cards — which was Rs 29942 crore in October 2016 — increased by 38% in the one year period ending October 2016. Amount transacted through debit cards increased by 56% during the same time. In October 2016, Rs 21941 crore were transacted through debit cards. 4. Total amount transacted through credit cards went up by Rs 5745 crore…
