The India card payments market is set to increase at a 9.9% compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) to reach 43.9 trillion Indian rupees ( US$512 billion ) in 2029, according to a recent report.

The growth will be supported by sustained financial inclusion efforts, improving payment infrastructure and a rising preference for electronic payments, finds intelligence and productivity platform GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics report.

Total card payment value in India grew by 7.8% to 27.5 trillion rupees in 2024 reflecting moderating, but still healthy expansion, as consumers are increasingly adopting digital channels. The card payments value is estimated to grow by 9.4% in 2025 to reach 30.1 trillion rupees. 

Debit cards remain the most widely held payment cards in India, underpinned by the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana ( PMJDY ) programme, a government-backed financial inclusion initiative, and the government’s overall financial inclusion agenda.

Despite lower penetration than debit cards, credit and charge cards are highly preferred for payments. With the expansion of the middle-class workforce, increasing incomes and heightened awareness of credit card benefits fuelled by banks’ promotional campaigns, the adoption and utilization of credit cards are on the rise.

Another important factor contributing to this uptrend in India is the availability of instalment facilities. Most of the country’s major banks offer instalment payment facilities, enabling consumers to convert large-ticket purchases into monthly payments. For example, Axis Bank allows credit card holders to convert purchases into six, nine, 12, 18 or 24 instalments.

Notably, rising e-commerce payments in the country, according to GlobalData, has also contributed to the overall growth in card payments. This can be attributed to the benefits offered with credit and charge cards for online payments.

And regulatory and infrastructure initiatives are playing a decisive role in supporting card payments. The Payments Infrastructure Development Fund ( PIDF ), launched by the Reserve Bank of India in January 2021 and extended to December 31 2025, subsidizes the cost of point-of-service and quick-response acceptance devices, particularly in underpenetrated regions.

“India’s card payments market is expanding steadily on the back of large-scale financial inclusion programmes, regulatory support and infrastructure-building schemes,” says Ravi Sharma, GlobalData’s lead banking and payments analyst. “The PMJDY [programme] has significantly raised the banked population, while measures, such as reduced merchant fees, the PIDF and permitting non-banking financial companies to offer banking services, are collectively nudging consumers and merchants towards electronic payments.”

Overall, Sharma concludes: “India’s card payments market will continue to benefit from the sustained financial inclusion efforts, ongoing infrastructure investments and the growing use of cards in e-commerce and transit. Although competitive pressure from mobile wallet payments will remain high, expanding acceptance networks, and reward and pricing benefits on card payments will underpin healthy double-digit expansion in transaction value over 2025–29.”