Slower credit card growth in 2007-08

According to data released by the RBI, Credit Card growth slowed down in FY 2007-08 mainly due to defaults by consumers. Here are some latest facts,

• India now has 26 Million Credit Card users - 1/10th the size of Mobile Phone users :-)
• For FY 2007-08, growth in new credit card accounts was 18%, previous financial year 33%
• Minimum annual income to own a credit card is now Rs 120,000 + PAN Card + KYC compliance
• ICICI Bank is now the largest credit card issuing bank in India with 9 million cards.
• Defaulters on Credit card is up by 2% to 12% compared to 10% in FY 06-07

One of the reasons attributed to higher default rate is because other retail debt is demanding higher EMIs which has put pressure on individuals. Also over leveraging up to 20 times their annual income on loans has led to the rise of defaulters.