What's behind Indians' credit card spending surge in recent months?

Indians’ credit card spends in September jumped 57% on a year-on-year basis to Rs 80,000 crore, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India. This represents 3.2% sequential growth, despite a high base of Rs 77,981 crore in August.In the past six months, the average monthly spending on a credit card increased to about Rs 12,400 from Rs 10,700 earlier, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said in a report.And the momentum is only expected to continue as the economic activity improves, leading to consumer confidence and optimism.The current figures are much higher than the pre-pandemic level. For instance, IDFC First Bank, which entered the credit card space only in January this year, already has half a million cards in circulation.HDFC Bank: 14.98 millonSBI: 12.58 millionICICI Bank: 11.7 millionAxis Bank: 7.51 millionRBL Bank: 3.1 millionCitibank: 2.59 millionKotak Mahindra Bank: 2.44 millionOne of the main reasons for the spike in new card additions in September was the return of India’s biggest credit card issuer, HDFC Bank, into the market after eight months. Since then, the bank is on an aggressive drive to regain the market share it lost during the period.Over the past 10 months, ICICI Bank has added close to 2 million new credit cards whereas Axis Bank has added 6.3 lakh cards.For October, the spending is estimated to be even higher, as e-commerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon ran their annual festival sales in the first week of the month. Amazon Pay has tied up with ICICI Bank, while Flipkart is collaborating with Axis Bank.By July this year, ICICI had issued more than 2 million Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Cards.