India’s credit card issuers stepped up acquisitions ahead of the peak festive season, adding a net 1.26 million cards in September 2026, the second-highest monthly addition of the calendar year, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. Only July, at 1.27 million, was marginally higher.
Two private sector lenders drove the surge. HDFC Bank and Axis Bank together added 5,39,878 net cards during the month, accounting for nearly 43 per cent of all fresh additions.
HDFC Bank and Axis Bank lead the pack
HDFC Bank topped the table with 2,80,353 net additions in September, more than double the 1,22,669 cards it added in August. Axis Bank was a close second with 2,59,525 cards, a sharp turnaround from just 32,789 additions in the previous month, nearly an eightfold jump.
SBI Card followed with 2,08,026 additions, up from 1,93,294 in August. Bank of Baroda added 1,14,083 cards, while Slice Small Finance Bank and Federal Bank added 89,794 and 81,753 cards respectively. Additions were comparatively subdued at ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank during the month.
Quarterly momentum is stronger still
The pick-up is clearer on a quarterly basis. Banks added 3.72 million net credit cards in the July–September 2026 quarter, nearly 47 per cent more than the 2.54 million added in the same quarter last year and about 26 per cent higher than the 2.96 million added in April–June.
September’s additions were 5.5 per cent higher than August’s 1.20 million and close to 25 per cent above the 1.01 million cards added in September 2025. Total outstanding credit cards in the system rose to 125.32 million at the end of September, up 10.4 per cent from 113.51 million a year earlier.
What it means for lenders
The numbers suggest card issuers are leaning back into unsecured retail growth after a cautious phase, timing customer acquisition to capture festive-season spends. For banks such as Axis Bank, whose additions swung sharply month on month, the September data points to a renewed acquisition push, while HDFC Bank continues to consolidate its position as the largest issuer.
The expansion comes at a time when system liquidity has tightened and bank funding costs are rising, which will keep the focus on how lenders balance card growth with asset quality and pricing in the coming quarters.
Source: Reserve Bank of India monthly credit card data for September 2026, as reported by The Economic Times on 28 October 2026.
