Tapping Into the Co-branded Retail Credit Cards in India

The top four banks in India claim 75% share of the country's credit card market offering more than 70 co-branded credit cards. To learn more about the top cards launched with retail brands, swipe down.

- Shiv Joshi

There was a time when a consumer had to carry 10 different loyalty cards of different brands with her when she went shopping. Today, most people simply carry their co-branded credit cards. According to credit advisory Credit Sudhaar, an average Indian credit card user holds at least two credit cards. And chances are, at least one of them is a co-branded card issued by a leading retailer.

Co-branded cards have seen a significant rise in the recent years in India. The first seven months of this year saw at least four major co-branded credit cards being launched by leading retail brands.

More and more retailers are opting to launch such cards, so their cards find wider usability and hence more appeal among consumers. Today, cobranded credit cards are an important part of a brand's loyalty offering, replacing brand specific loyalty cards in a consumer's wallet which had limited acceptance.

Retailers must tie up with banks to launch these cards, since Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which regulates credit cards in the country, allows only banks to issue and operate cards.

A Quick Look at the Numbers

According to RBI, there is one credit card for every 12 debit cards in India.

India had a total of 80.08 million (or 8,0834,596 to be precise) credit cards in March 2023, according to RBI. Four banks-Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of Indiadominate the market, claiming 75% market share. Together, they run 60.8 million outstanding credit cards (as of March 2023) and more than 70 co-branded variants.

Their share has seen a rise of 4% in one year-from 71% in March 2022, indicating the growth of the segment.

The Visa network supports a whopping 70% of the country's cobranded cards, while Mastercard supports 14% and National Payments Corporation of India's RuPay backs 11%.

The Economics & the Benefits