If everything remains on track, nearly half of India's population shall be issued debit cards in the next three years. A top industry body has speculated the facts and data in these regards.
In recent study concluded by Assocham, by the end of last year, nearly 31.44 crore bank customers were issued debit cards. This number is growing at a compound annual rate of 18 percent, and this pace is expected to be sustained, if not improved, with the focus on higher bank inclusion.
Study shows that a whooping 54 crore-bank customers or nearly half of India's population shall be issued debit cards in the next three years.
Rajkumar Dhoot, president Assocham, "The so-called plastic money culture, implying living on borrowed money, has not really caught on in India. Part of the blame lies with card issuers, which have kept so many hidden charges, making users feel deceived."
However, the number of credit cards, largely a phenomenon in metro cities among the middle and more affluent classes, is not growing at even half the rate of the debit cards.
By December 2012, the number of credit cards in the market was just 1.88 crore, with an annual growth of barely six to seven percent.
Assocham study pointed out that debit cards are performing the role of bank cashiers, through ATMs. There are other benefits accruing to both the banks and customers through increased use of debit cards. These include less crowding in bank branches and convenience of any-time, round-the-clock banking to the customers through the use of the Automatic Teller Machines.
(With inputs from IANS)
|
|
Comments:
