According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) September 2026 card statistics September 2026 card statistics, India had 12.53 crore credit cards and 103.97 crore debit cards outstanding at month-end. Credit cards were used more for online transactions than at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, while debit cards were primarily used for ATM cash withdrawals rather than purchases.

The RBI’s provisional data further indicates that, at the end of September, India had 88.55 crore UPI QR codes, 53.40 lakh Bharat QR codes, 1.04 crore PoS terminals, and 2.10 lakh ATMs and cash recycling machines (CRMs).

What does the RBI count as outstanding cards?

What do the outstanding card figures represent? The RBI reports outstanding cards as of month-end, listing 125,315,381 credit cards and 1,039,700,822 debit cards. These figures represent card counts, not unique individuals or transactions, as one person may hold multiple cards. The RBI refers to these totals as “Number – Outstanding (as on month end)” and distinguishes them from monthly transaction data.

Where were credit cards used? According to RBI data, credit cards were used for 30.79 crore online purchases totaling about Rs 1.26 lakh crore in September. At point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, which are card-payment terminals at merchants, there were 29.82 crore purchases worth about Rs 77,751 crore. Although the number of transactions was similar, the total online transaction value was about 1.6 times higher than at PoS terminals. These figures represent aggregate totals, not individual cardholder spending.

The RBI also records an “Others” category for credit-card payments, comprising 40,54,757 transactions worth Rs 112.05 crore. Additionally, it reports 6,62,921 credit-card cash withdrawals at ATMs, totaling Rs 382.74 crore. When comparing card payment locations, cash withdrawals should be excluded from purchase data.

How do debit-card purchases compare with ATM withdrawals?

How were debit cards used? Debit cards made 7.07 crore PoS purchases worth about Rs 20,704 crore and 2.60 crore online purchases worth about Rs 13,126 crore, according to the RBI.

At ATMs, debit cards were used for 39.83 crore cash withdrawals totaling about Rs 2.19 lakh crore, nearly four times the combined number of debit-card purchases. This comparison highlights that a large debit-card base alone does not indicate frequent use for purchasing goods or services.

What do the RBI’s QR-code counts measure?

Why do the QR-code figures matter? The RBI reports 88.55 crore UPI QR codes, 53.40 lakh Bharat QR codes, and 1.04 crore PoS terminals as part of its acceptance infrastructure, based on month-end counts. In contrast, the card-payment columns reflect the number of transactions in September.

Can this show whether cards are gaining or losing ground? To identify trends in card issuance, spending, or ATM withdrawals, compare figures across multiple months. It is important to determine if the gap between credit-card purchases and debit-card cash use remains consistent over time, rather than interpreting a single month’s totals as a behavioral shift.

How do September’s card numbers compare with recent months and UPI?

Outstanding credit cards reached 12.405 crore in August 2026, up from 11.234 crore in August 2025. Credit card spending in August totaled approximately Rs 2.02 lakh crore, with Rs 79,355 crore at PoS and Rs 1.23 lakh crore online. In September, online spending rose to about Rs 1.26 lakh crore, while PoS spending declined slightly to Rs 77,751 crore, resulting in a total of roughly Rs 2.04 lakh crore. Debit-card ATM withdrawal values also declined from August to September. ATM withdrawals using debit cards were about Rs 2.24 lakh crore in August and Rs 2.19 lakh crore in September, indicating that cash remains the primary mode of transaction. Card transactions remain modest compared to UPI, which processed 24.07 billion transactions worth Rs 29.37 trillion in September, a 23% year-on-year increase in transaction volume. UPI transaction value reached a record Rs 31.53 lakh crore in October 2026, driven by festive spending, highlighting the rapid shift in payment preferences.

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