Ticket size movement
During the July-February period, Karur Vysya Bank recorded the largest decline in banknote size with a negative of 46.2%, followed by City Union Bank (-20.7%), IDFC Bank (- 16.4%) and Indian Bank (-15.25%). . During the same period, AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) saw the largest increase in note size at 64.1%, followed by Federal Bank (62.9%), Standard Chartered Bank (60%) and Bank of America (59.24%).
Card spend
Momentum was weak, month-over-month for the industry, with February (average) ticket count lower than August. At the industry level, card spend was down 4% month-over-month. The weakest momentum was observed for South Indian Bank, SBI Card, IDFC Bank, DBS Bank, among others. A total of 19 players saw a drop in average ticket size.
Card issues
In terms of credit card issuance, from July to February, the main gainers were South Indian Bank (base effect), AU SFB, Federal Bank and Karur Vysya Bank. Those that saw credit card declines from July to February include City Union Bank, DCB Bank, Bank of America, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, American Express, J&K Bank, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank and Citibank. Overall, the number of credit cards rose 1.97% in February from 1.89% in January, month-on-month.
Market share movement
Outlook
Card distribution remains healthy, which has been a key factor over the past few months. Axis Bank is doing well and with the possible merger of Citibank’s retail business, its market share may improve to over 15.5% from current levels of 12%. Lower spending is a worrying factor, but with restrictions removed, spending should improve from March.
cnbctv18-forexlive-benzinga