Non-performing assets in the credit card segment rose by 28.42% in 2024, climbing to Rs 6,742 crore, reported The Indian Express on Monday, citing data from the Reserve Bank of India.

This marks a significant increase from the Rs 5,250 crore outstanding in the segment at the end of the 2023 calendar year.

In response to a Right to Information query filed by The Indian Express, the central bank stated that the gross non-performing assets, or NPAs, in the credit card segment accounted for 2.3% of the total Rs 2.92 lakh crore outstanding loans in December 2024. In comparison, NPAs made up 2.06% of Rs 2.53 lakh crore loans a year earlier.

Credit card NPAs have increased more than fivefold since December 2020, when they stood at Rs 1,108 crore.

A loan account is classified as a non-performing asset when the borrower delays repayment beyond 90 days.

The sharp rise in credit card defaults comes at a time when Indian banks have succeeded in reducing their overall gross NPAs. Total gross NPAs fell from Rs 5 lakh crore, or 2.5% of total advances, in December 2023 to Rs 4.55 lakh crore, or 2.41%, by December 2024.

However, NPAs in the personal loan and credit card categories have surged.

Credit card usage has seen a steep rise, with the value of transactions nearly tripling over the past three years. Credit card payments totalled Rs 18.31 lakh crore in the year ended March 2024, up from Rs 6.30 lakh crore in March 2021.

In January 2025 alone, credit card transactions stood at Rs 1.84 lakh crore, up from Rs 64,737 crore in January 2021. The number of credit cards issued by banks rose to 10.88 crore as of January 2025, compared to 9.95 crore a year earlier and 6.10 crore in January 2021, according to Reserve Bank of India data.

However, the outstanding amount on credit cards is unsecured and carries high interest rates. If a customer delays paying their credit card bill beyond the interest-free period, banks may charge interest rates ranging between 42% to 46% per annum on the dues, which also impacts the customer's credit score.

The increase in credit card usage has been fuelled by the popularity of digital payments and consumer offers, reported The Indian Express. “Customers should realise that if they keep card dues beyond the interest-free period, they end up paying an interest rate of up to 42% in some cases,” an unidentified bank official told the newspaper. “It will put them in a debt trap.”

In November 2023, the Reserve Bank of India raised the risk weight on banks’ exposure to consumer credit, credit card receivables and non-banking finance companies by 25%, taking it up to 150%. The move aimed to check the potential build-up of risk in these segments.

“Even as inquiry volumes remain robust, the impact of increase in risk weights on certain segments of consumer credit pulled down the rate of growth in overall consumer credit, especially personal loans and credit cards,” said the Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Stability Report.