State of credit cards: Sept spend dip, SBI Card Q2, fraud data

Three sets of numbers describe Indian credit cards right now. Spending on cards fell year-on-year in September 2026 for the first time since February 2021, even as the number of cards kept rising. SBI Card reported a 75% jump in quarterly profit as its credit costs fell. And RBI's fraud and complaint data shows card complaints rising, while a headline fraud number needs a careful reading.

We covered the September spending data in detail in our October lending and card news roundup, so here we recap it briefly and focus on what is new: SBI Card's results, the fraud and ombudsman figures, and the dates to watch in November and December.

September spends: a quick recap

• Card spends were about ₹2.04 lakh crore in September 2026, down 5.9% from September 2025, the first year-on-year fall since February 2021 (RBI data, as reported).
• Cards outstanding: about 12.53 crore, up 10.4%, with about 12.62 lakh net additions in the month.
• Spend per card: ₹16,305, down 14.8%. Online spends: ₹1.26 lakh crore, down 12.5%. In-store (POS) spends: ₹77,751 crore, up 7.2%.
• Transactions: about 61 crore, up 23.2%. Average ticket: ₹3,343, down 23.6%.
• By issuer: HDFC Bank's spends rose 7.7% and its share was 31.94%; SBI Card, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank lost share. Private banks held 73.78% of spends and public sector banks 20.41%.
• August 2026 for context: about ₹2.02 trillion, down 2.8% year-on-year, with online spends down 7%.

CareEdge Ratings, as cited by Moneycontrol and reported by Lapaas Voice, linked much of the fall to a high base: September 2025 had GST rate cuts and the start of online festive sales, while this year's major festive sales moved into October. Not everyone counts the same way. Jefferies puts the September decline at 6.2%, to about ₹2 lakh crore, and the card base at 123.8 million (about 12.38 crore), up 9.5%. We use the RBI-data figures above and flag Jefferies' as a variant.

What stands out for an ordinary cardholder is the shape of the change: many more transactions, each much smaller. On our reading, that fits cards being used more often for everyday, small-ticket payments. That is an interpretation, not something the data proves. October 2026 data, which covers the festive month, is expected around late November.

SBI Card Q2 FY27: profit up as credit costs fall

SBI Card's board approved its results for July to September 2026 (Q2 FY27) on 23 October 2026. As reported from its exchange filing:

• Profit after tax: ₹777.60 crore, up 75% from ₹444.77 crore a year earlier.
• Revenue from operations: ₹5,140.53 crore.
• Gross NPA: 1.90%, down from 2.41% at 31 March 2026. Net NPA: 0.77%. Provision coverage: 59.76%. Capital adequacy: 26.47%.
• A ₹100 crore management overlay, with ₹30 crore added in Q2, held for "uncertain macroeconomic conditions".
• Impairment losses and bad debts: ₹819 crore, against ₹1,293 crore a year earlier, down 37%, as reported by FinTech BizNews.

Two further figures come from a Motilal Oswal broker note on the results: a gross credit cost of 5.6%, down from 6.5% in Q1 FY27, and management's FY27 gross credit cost guidance of about 6%. Treat these as reported. Our devaluation explainer covers the earlier spike in SBI Card's credit costs; we have not repeated it here.

What it means for cardholders, in our view: fewer bad loans give issuers room, but issuers are also adding category fees. SBI Card's own 1% fee on large fuel and transport spends starts on 1 December. Whether issuers are deliberately rebuilding fee income is our inference, not something SBI Card has said.

Card fraud: read the RBI number carefully

RBI's Annual Report (May 2026) shows card, internet and digital payment fraud of ₹29 crore across 293 cases in FY26 (April 2025 to March 2026), against ₹517 crore across 13,332 cases in FY25 and ₹1,452 crore across 28,836 cases in FY24. Total bank fraud by value rose 46.4% to ₹48,021 crore in FY26, and loans (advances) made up ₹40,774 crore, or 84.9%, of that value. RBI also said the FY26 total includes 314 older cases worth ₹30,199 crore, reported afresh after banks re-examined them following a Supreme Court judgment of March 2023, so the jump is not all new fraud.

Do not read the card figure as "card fraud fell 94%". RBI's fraud data covers only frauds of ₹1 lakh and above, counted by the year they were reported, not when they happened. Smaller card and UPI frauds, below ₹1 lakh each, do not appear in these numbers. The steep drop may also reflect changes in how frauds are classified or reported. The safer reading is that large-value card frauds reported to RBI fell, not that cardholders face less fraud.

Complaints: card grievances are rising

The latest RBI Ombudsman annual report, for FY25 (April 2024 to March 2025), released around 1 December 2025, recorded 13.34 lakh complaints, up 13.55%. Credit card complaints were 50,811, up 20.04%, the second-largest category after loans. The FY26 report has not been released yet. If RBI follows last year's timing, it would come around early December 2026; that is our expectation, not an announced date.

If you have a card dispute, two rights in RBI's 2025 card Directions help. The issuer must explain a disputed bill, with documents where applicable, within 30 days of your complaint (paragraph 25), and it cannot levy charges on a transaction you have disputed as fraud until the dispute is resolved (paragraph 27). Our RBI card rights explainer covers these and eight more.

Dates to watch, November to December 2026

• UPI MDR on some merchant payments above ₹2,000: "post Diwali at a date to be notified separately". Date awaited as of 3 November.
• 1 December: SBI Card's 1% fee on fuel above ₹50,000 a billing cycle and on transport payments above ₹30,000.
• 2 to 4 December: RBI Monetary Policy Committee meeting, per RBI's FY27 schedule.
• Around late November (expected): RBI's October 2026 card data, covering the festive month.
• Around early December (expected, based on last year's timing): RBI Ombudsman annual report for FY26.

Spendzie reads your bank and card SMS to track spends, EMIs and card fees. Industry data tells you what millions of cardholders did; your SMS trail tells you what you did, including fee lines and unfamiliar debits worth disputing early. Spendzie does not give loans, does not give investment advice and is not a bank.

Publish notes and sources

• Sept 2026 card spends ₹2.04 lakh crore (−5.9% y-o-y), first decline since Feb 2021; cards about 12.53 crore (+10.4%), about 12.62 lakh net additions; spend per card ₹16,305 (−14.8%); online ₹1.26 lakh crore (−12.5%); POS ₹77,751 crore (+7.2%); about 61 crore transactions (+23.2%); average ticket ₹3,343 (−23.6%); HDFC Bank +7.7%, share 31.94%; private banks 73.78%, PSBs 20.41% (media report of RBI/CareEdge data) — Lapaas Voice, 28 Oct 2026 — https://lapaasvoice.com/credit-card-spending-falls-5-9-in-september-first-decline-since-february-2021/ ; NewsBytes — https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/india-s-credit-card-spending-falls-for-first-time-since-2021/story
• Jefferies variant: decline 6.2% (about ₹2 lakh crore / Rs 2 trillion), card base 123.8 million (+9.5%) (analyst estimate; media report) — NewKerala — https://www.newkerala.com/news/a/indias-credit-card-base-expands-95-yoy-september-466.htm ; CareEdge high-base explanation (Sept 2025 GST rate cuts and early online festive sales; festive sales moved to Oct 2026) (media report) — Lapaas Voice, 28 Oct 2026 — https://lapaasvoice.com/credit-card-spending-falls-5-9-in-september-first-decline-since-february-2021/
• Aug 2026 spends about ₹2.02 trillion (−2.8%), online −7% (media report) — Angel One — https://www.angelone.in/news/economy/credit-card-spending-declines-by-2-8-to-2-02-trillion-in-august-2026
• SBI Card Q2 FY27, board approval 23 Oct 2026: PAT ₹777.60 crore vs ₹444.77 crore (+75%); revenue from operations ₹5,140.53 crore; GNPA 1.90% (2.41% at 31 Mar 2026); NNPA 0.77%; PCR 59.76%; CAR 26.47%; ₹100 crore overlay, ₹30 crore added in Q2 (media report of exchange filing) — PSU Connect — https://www.psuconnect.in/financial/sbi-cards-reports-strong-q2-fy27-results-pat-rises-75-yoy-to-777-60-crore
• Impairment losses and bad debts ₹819 crore vs ₹1,293 crore (−37%) (media report) — FinTech BizNews — https://www.fintechbiznews.com/fintech-digital-payment-/sbi-cards-pat-up-75-yoy-at-rs778-cr
• Gross credit cost 5.6% (from 6.5% in Q1 FY27); FY27 gross credit cost guidance ~6% (analyst note; secondary) — Motilal Oswal research note, 24 Oct 2026, as hosted by investmentguruindia.com — https://investmentguruindia.com/editorial/uploads/news-pdf/f66e4fa3_SBICARD-20261024-MOFSL-RU-PG014.pdf
• Card/internet/digital payments fraud FY26 ₹29 crore / 293 cases; FY25 ₹517 crore / 13,332; FY24 ₹1,452 crore / 28,836; total bank fraud ₹48,021 crore (+46.4%) (RBI Annual Report May 2026, media report) — Deccan Chronicle — https://deccanchronicle.com/nation/number-of-bank-frauds-fall-57-but-amount-rises-46-to-rs-48021-crore-in-fy26-1959980
• Advances ₹40,774 crore of ₹48,021 crore (84.9%, Spendzie calculation); data covers frauds of ₹1 lakh and above reported during the period; FY26 includes 314 cases / ₹30,199 crore from previous years reported afresh after the Supreme Court's March 2023 judgment (media report, PTI) — Outlook Business — https://www.outlookbusiness.com/news/financial-institutions-report-over-10000-cases-of-fraud-involving-48000-cr-in-fy26-rbi-data ; Outlook Money, 31 May 2026 — https://www.outlookmoney.com/banking/fraud-cases-fall-but-amount-involved-climbs-to-rs-48021-crore-in-fy26-says-rbi-annual-report
• RBI Ombudsman FY25: 13.34 lakh complaints (+13.55%); credit card complaints up 20.04%, second after loans — Tribune — https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/rbi-ombudsman-sees-13-34-lakh-complaints-in-fy25-loans-credit-cards-dominate ; Business Standard, about 1 Dec 2025 — https://www.business-standard.com/finance/news/rbi-ombudsman-complaints-fy25-rise-loans-credit-cards-125120101346_1.html ; 50,811 credit card complaints (media report) — Outlook Money — https://www.outlookmoney.com/banking/second-highest-number-of-complaints-is-about-credit-cards-rbi-report
• Paras 25 (30 days) and 27 (no charges on fraud-disputed transactions) — RBI Credit Cards and Debit Cards Directions, 2025, updated 1 Oct 2026 — https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=13155
• MPC 2–4 Dec 2026 — RBI press release, 23 Mar 2026 — https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=62422
• SBI Card 1% fees from 1 Dec 2026 (fuel above ₹50,000 per cycle; transport above ₹30,000 per transaction) — SBI Card customer notices — https://www.sbicard.com/en/customer-notices.page
• UPI MDR on P2M above ₹2,000, post Diwali, date to be notified — NPCI, 13 Oct 2026 — https://www.npci.org.in/uploads/UPI_MDR_on_Select_Merchant_Transactions_Shall_be_Implemented_Post_Diwali_4c9cdd77d5.pdf
• Expected timings (October card data around late Nov; FY26 Ombudsman report around early Dec) — Spendzie expectation based on past release timing, not announced dates
• Researched and verified by the Spendzie editorial desk on 3 November 2026. Figures may change; we will update this post if they do.

Disclaimer

This article is general information only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Spendzie is not a bank, lender, SEBI-registered investment adviser or research analyst. Brand, product and card names are used for identification only and do not imply endorsement or partnership. Fees, rules and data change; always verify with the official source (RBI, NPCI or your card issuer) and your own card's terms before making a decision.