The third largest private sector lender Axis Bank has said smaller centres are outpacing the top eight cities in its credit cards business, fuelled largely by the e-commerce boom.
“Earlier, credit cards penetration was limited to what we classified as top eight cities. But now, over half of our growth is coming from smaller cities and towns,” the bank's Head, Cards and Merchant Acquiring, Sangram Singh told PTI. He further said such smaller centres have contributed to 60 per cent of the incremental growth in cards and 50 per cent of growth in spends during 2015-16, compared to the previous fiscal.
A large part of the spends is coming from the e-commerce segment, Singh said, adding this is not surprising as the booming online sellers have been deepening their reach beyond the metros. He, however, was quick to add that the bank is also witnessing a spurt in spends at retail stores, with more supermarkets being set up.