The India card payments market is set to increase at a 9.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach INR43.9 trillion ($512 billion) in 2029. The growth will be supported by the sustained financial inclusion efforts, improving payment infrastructure, and a rising preference for electronic payments, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics reveals that the total card payment value in India grew by 7.8% to INR27.5 trillion ($328.9 billion) in 2024, reflecting moderating but still healthy expansion as consumers are increasingly adopting digital channels. The card payments value is estimated to grow by 9.4% in 2025 to reach INR30.1 trillion ($358 billion).
Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “India’s card payments market is expanding steadily on the back of large-scale financial inclusion programs, regulatory support, and infrastructure-building schemes. The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has significantly raised the banked population, while measures such as reduced merchant fees, the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), and permitting non-banking financial companies to offer banking services are collectively nudging consumers and merchants towards electronic payments.”
Debit cards remain the most widely held payment cards in India, underpinned by the PMJDY program and the government’s financial inclusion agenda.
Despite lower penetration than debit cards, credit and charge cards are highly preferred for payments. With the expansion of the middle-class workforce, increasing incomes, and heightened awareness of credit card benefits—fueled by banks’ promotional campaigns, the adoption and utilization of credit cards are on the rise.
Another important factor contributing to this uptrend in India is the availability of installment facilities. Most of the country’s major banks offer instalment payment facilities, enabling consumers to convert large-ticket purchases into monthly payments. For example, Axis Bank allows credit card holders to convert purchases into six, nine, 12, 18, or 24 installments.
Notably, rising ecommerce payments in the country also contributed to the overall growth in card payments. This can be attributed to the benefits offered with credit and charge cards for online payments.
Regulatory and infrastructure initiatives are playing a decisive role in supporting card payments. The PIDF, launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in January 2021 and was extended to 31 December 2025, subsidizes the cost of POS and QR acceptance devices, particularly in underpenetrated regions.
Sharma concludes: “India’s card payments market will continue to benefit from the sustained financial inclusion efforts, ongoing infrastructure investments, and the growing use of cards in ecommerce and transit. Although competitive pressure from mobile wallet payments will remain high, expanding acceptance networks, and reward and pricing benefits on card payments will underpin healthy double-digit expansion in transaction value over 2025–29.”
