Credit card additions hit second-highest monthly level in 2026 as banks gear up for festive season

Growth in card additions was relatively muted at ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank in September.

July was only marginally ahead in net additions, at 1.27 million.

HDFC Bank and Axis Bank together accounted for nearly 43% of the net additions during September, adding 539,878 cards between them. The two private sector lenders emerged as the largest contributors to fresh additions, followed by SBI Cards.

Growth in card additions was relatively muted at ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank in September.

September's net additions were 5.5% higher than the 1.20 million cards added in August and nearly 25% above the 1.01 million additions recorded in September 2025. The total number of outstanding credit cards rose to 125.32 million at the end of September, up 10.4% from 113.51 million a year earlier.

Among individual lenders, HDFC Bank led September additions with 280,353 cards, more than double the 122,669 cards added in August. Axis Bank followed closely, adding 259,525 cards, nearly eight times its August additions of just 32,789.

SBI Cards added 208,026 cards, compared with 193,294 in August.

Bank of Baroda added 114,083 cards, while Slice Small Finance Bank and Federal Bank added 89,794 and 81,753 cards, respectively.