Swipe right on credit: India's Gen Z is embracing credit cards faster than millennials, shows CIBIL report
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Swipe right on credit: India's Gen Z is embracing credit cards faster than millennials, shows CIBIL report")
Gen Z is rewriting India's credit culture. Should banks be worried? Photograph: (Pexels)
India's youngest consumers are entering the credit system earlier than ever, opening multiple credit cards and spending more aggressively than millennials. Here's what the latest CIBIL report reveals about Gen Z's changing relationship with money.
India’s relationship with money is undergoing a quiet cultural shift. For a generation raised on instant commerce, digital payments and app-based lifestyles, credit cards are no longer a financial milestone; they’re becoming an early financial companion.
A new Trans-Union Cibil report suggests Gen Z is entering the formal credit system much earlier than millennials did, and they’re not just getting cards, they’re using them more actively. Nearly 28 per cent of Gen Z cardholders spend ₹25,000 or more within the first three months of getting a new credit card, compared with 20 per cent of millennials, signalling a greater willingness among younger consumers to use credit from the outset.
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The report also points to a growing multi-card culture. One in every two new young cardholders opens another credit card within 12 months of getting their first, suggesting that access to credit is becoming an integral part of personal finance for India’s youngest borrowers.
The trend is unfolding against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding credit card market. Outstanding credit card balances have surged from around ₹0.4 lakh crore to ₹3.1 lakh crore over the past decade, while the number of credit card users has jumped from 1.4 crore to 5.2 crore.
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For banks, that's evidence of deeper credit penetration. For businesses, it reflects a consumer economy that is increasingly comfortable with spending today and paying later. But every swipe comes with a caveat. As younger Indians embrace unsecured credit earlier and more frequently, repayment discipline is becoming just as important as access to credit.
The report flags rising early-stage delinquencies among younger borrowers, highlighting that while India’s credit culture is evolving rapidly, responsible borrowing will need to evolve just as fast.
