Foreign banks’ credit card base shrinks as local rivals step up

Data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows that several foreign lenders saw a decline in their active card base in 2025, even as the overall credit card market continued to grow rapidly, driven largely by private sector banks. Among major foreign issuers, American Express saw its active cards decline to 1.334 million in January 2026 from 1.453 million a year earlier, a drop of 118,000 cards.

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