The number of credit and debit cards in India is steadily rising but Indians still prefer debit cards over credit cards. In January 2017, a total of 28.8 million credit cards and 818 million debit cards were in operation, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Between January 2016 and January 2017, India added some 0.52 million credit cards and added 56.86 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 70.5% while it rose by 199% for debit cards for the year ending January 2017. In January, total number of transactions through credit cards were 118.78 million while the figure for debit cards was 328.6 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 3% between January 2016 and January 2017. For debit cards, it grew by 12.14% during the same time period. 3. Total amount transacted through credit cards — which was Rs 32,691 crore in January 2017 — increased by 76% in the one year period ending January 2017. Amount transacted through debit cards increased by 235% during the same time. In January 2017, Rs 49,004 crore were transacted through debit cards. 4. Total amount transacted through credit cards went up by Rs 1,542 crore in January 2017 while amount transacted through debit…
