Credit cards transactions rise 30.1% in FY23 in volume: RBI Annual Report

Credit cards payment transactions rises 30.1% in 2022-23 in volume terms: RBI Annual Report

The payments transaction through credit cards increased 30.1 percent and 47.3 percent in terms of volume and value in 2022-23, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Annual Report.

Transactions through debit cards, however, decreased by 13.2 percent in terms of volume, and 1.4 percent in terms of value.

“The growth in digital payments can be attributed to increased availability of acceptance infrastructure, which witnessed substantial growth during the year benefitting from the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme, operationalised in January 2021,” the RBI said in the report.

The number of Points of Sale (PoS) terminals increased by 28.3 per cent to 77.9 lakh at endMarch 2023, while the number of Bharat Quick Response (BQR) codes deployed increased by 6.7 per cent to 53.8 lakh during the same period.

Further, UPI QR increased by 48.4 per cent to 25.64 crore at end-March 2023.

Moreover, in the digital space, the number of transactions using RTGS system increased by 16.7 per cent during 2022-23, according to the Annual report of RBI. In terms of value, RTGS transactions registered an increase of 16.5 per cent.

As at end-March 2023, RTGS services were available through 1,65,390 IFSCs of 243 members.

Report further said transactions through the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system also witnessed an increase of 30.8 per cent and
17.4 per cent in volume and value, respectively, reflective of the increase in large value corporate transactions, in line with rising economic activity.

While, NEFT services were available through 1,66,544 IFSCs of 230 member banks.

The RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on May 29 in a speech said banks should exercise caution and prudence in their growth strategies, pricing of products and portfolio composition.

"Over-aggressive growth, under-pricing or over-pricing of products both on the credit and deposit sides, concentration or lack of adequate diversification in deposit/credit profile can expose the banks to higher risks and vulnerabilities," Das said at the Conference of Directors of Banks.

Further he said from time to time, the Reserve Bank has engaged with certain banks on the need to make suitable adjustments in their business strategies where it was observed that over-aggressive growth in certain business segments (be it in credit/deposits) were creating avoidable vulnerabilities.