As per data submitted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), credit card number has been steadily falling from April 2010 to December 2010. There were 19.3 million in April 2010 whereas in December 2010 it reaches at 18.1 million.

This shows that credit card number reduced by 12.3%.

During current fiscal year banks are more cautious over issuing credit cards because they have experienced recession in past few years. On the occurrence of recession, banks have witnessed defaults as a result banks have started blocking the outflow of credit. Banks are treating credit cards as personal loans because they are unsecured and funds are used for incurring personal expenses.  

Lalit Sinha, general manager, alternate channels, Union Bank of India said that only existing customers are issued with credit cards. He also said that in comparison to credit cards, debit cards are becoming more popular. The year 2010-2011 ended on December 2010 reported 216 million debit cards from 185 million in April 2010. It shows a rise of 27% in debit cards.