SBI Cards FY25 Performance Review: What You Need to Know

SBI Cards Q4 FY25 Update: Performance, Growth, and What’s Ahead

SBI Cards has shared its Q4 FY25 earnings, giving a clear picture of its performance, plans, and the credit card landscape in India. With digital payments growing fast, SBI Cards continues to play a major role. Let’s look at the main points.

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Credit Cards in a Digital India

India’s Growing Card Use

Credit cards are a key part of India’s digital payment system. As of February 2025, there were about 109 million credit cards in use across the country. This rise shows people are spending more and choosing digital payments over cash.

Impact of UPI and QR Payments

• UPI payments made using credit cards have gone up 4 times compared to last year.
• RuPay and UPI QR code usage is growing quickly, especially in smaller towns.

Digital Economy Outlook

India’s digital economy is growing fast. It’s expected to make up 20% of GDP by 2026 and may cross $1 trillion in value by 2028.

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SBI Cards: Market Position and Customer Base

Leading Position in the Market

SBI Cards has a strong 18.9% share in the total number of active credit cards. It’s the largest card-only company and the second-largest overall credit card issuer in India.

Cardholder Base Milestone

In December 2024, SBI Cards crossed the 2 crore (20 million) mark for total credit cards issued.

Steady Growth in New Customers

The company is adding around 1 million new cards every quarter, reaching 4 million new accounts in FY25, which is an 8% increase over the same period last year.

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Customer Acquisition Strategy

Sourcing Channels

SBI Cards uses two main ways to bring in new customers:

• Banca Channel (through SBI Bank): Contributed 51% of new cards in FY25.
• Open Market (direct sign-ups): 49% share.

In Q4 alone, banca jumped to 63% due to faster digital onboarding.

Digital Onboarding Tools

The new ‘SBI Card Sprint’ platform helped speed up how customers are onboarded through the banca route.

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Product Launches and Features

New Cards Introduced

SBI Cards launched several products to suit different needs:

• SBI Card Miles – for travel lovers.
• KrisFlyer SBI Card – in partnership with Singapore Airlines.
• BPCL SBI Card – reached 4 million users.

Focus on Personalization

SBI Cards has started using mobile apps to give each user a more personal experience. The aim is to improve customer engagement and increase usage over time.

Strategic Partnerships

The company is focusing more on premium cards and co-branded partnerships to serve specific customer groups.

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Spending Trends and Customer Behavior

Spend Market Share

As of February 2025, SBI Cards held a 15.6% market share in total credit card spends.

Spending Performance

• Total Q4 Spends: ₹88,365 crore (11% more than last year)
• Retail Spends (Q4): ₹80,000 crore (up 15%)
• Full Year Retail (FY25): Crossed ₹3 lakh crore (up 18%)
• Corporate Spends (Q4): ₹8,600 crore (up 60% compared to Q3)

User Engagement Metrics

• Around 51% of cardholders actively spend using their cards.
• About 59% of retail spending was done online.
• UPI-based spending through credit cards is also growing and may soon hit double digits as a percentage of total spending.

Popular Spending Categories

Customers mostly used their cards for:

• Consumer electronics
• Furniture
• Fashion
• Jewelry

For UPI-based spends, the top categories were:

• Groceries
• Fuel
• Clothing
• Restaurants
• Department stores

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Financial Performance

Income and Profits

• Q4 Revenue: ₹4,832 crore (up 8% YoY)
• FY25 Revenue: ₹18,637 crore (up 7%)
• Q4 Profit (PAT): ₹534 crore (up 39% from Q3)
• Full Year PAT: ₹1,916 crore (down from ₹2,408 crore last year)

A dividend of ₹2.50 per share has been announced as an interim payout for FY25.

Margins and Costs

• Cost of Funds: 7.2% in Q4, expected to drop slightly in FY26.
• Net Interest Margin (NIM): Over 11% in Q4.
• Operational Expenses:
  • Q4 expenses dropped due to seasonality and lower cashback offers.
  • FY25 cost-to-income ratio was 52%.
  • For FY26, it may rise slightly to 55–57% due to investments in growth.

Fee Income

Fee income rose by 5% YoY but was limited by reduced late fees and rental charges.

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Asset Quality and Risk Control

Credit Costs

• Gross Credit Cost: Down to 9%, improved by 40 basis points from the previous quarter.
• Management hopes to bring this down further to a 6–7% range.

Non-Performing Assets (NPA)

• Gross NPA: Down to 3.08%.
• Stage 2 Assets: Now at 5% of total receivables (down from 5.6%).
• Overall Expected Credit Loss (ECL): Down to 3.4% from 3.6%.
• Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR): 110.9% of NPAs.

Delinquency and Write-offs

• Write-offs are going down.
• Fewer cases of delayed payments (both 30+ and 90+ days).
• New customer groups are also showing better repayment trends.

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Portfolio Insights

Growth in Receivables

• FY25 Receivables: ₹55,840 crore (10% higher than last year)
• FY26 expected growth: 12–14%

The portfolio mix:

• 59% interest-bearing (non-EMI)
• 35% EMI-based

Cardholder Behavior

• About 24% of users revolve their balances.
• New customers are revolving less – 10–15% lower than older groups.
• This may drop slightly more in coming quarters.

RuPay and Corporate Cards

• RuPay cards now make up about 25% of the total.
• Corporate card segment is being rebuilt with a focus on travel and expense (T&E) use cases.

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FY26 Outlook

Customer Growth

SBI Cards plans to continue adding around 1.1 million new cards each quarter but will be cautious.

Spending Growth

Retail spending in FY26 is expected to grow 18–20%.

Profit Margins

• NIM expected to stay stable or go up slightly.
• However, yields from EMI-based products may come down.

Credit Risk

While credit costs are improving, complete normalization may take more time.

Operating Costs

Expected cost-to-income ratio for FY26 is 55–57%.

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Strong Capital and Liquidity

• Capital Adequacy Ratio: 22.9% (with CET1 at 17.5%)
• Ratings: AAA / A1+
• Funding: The company uses multiple sources to manage its funding needs.

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ESG and Regulatory Notes

Sustainability and CSR

SBI Cards continues efforts in digitization, tree plantations, and beach cleanups as part of its environmental and social work.

Regulations

• There’s no upper limit on credit card interest rates.
• EMI pricing follows RBI rules.

Customer Behavior Trends

• Cardholder attrition is between 10–13% per year.
• Customer maturity and stability usually come within 2–3 years.

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What the Management Said

Key Highlights from Leadership

• Operational improvements are on track.
• The team feels confident about digital tools and product innovation.
• Still, there’s caution around macro risks tied to unsecured lending.

Growth Approach

SBI Cards isn’t chasing fast growth in a risky environment. The company wants steady, risk-adjusted growth. The focus remains on profitability and resilience, not just adding more customers.

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FAQs on SBI Cards Performance

What is the total number of SBI Cards in circulation?

As of December 2024, SBI Cards has issued over 2 crore credit cards.

What is the current market share of SBI Cards?

SBI Cards holds an 18.9% share in terms of cards in force and a 15.6% share in total spending.

How is SBI Cards managing credit risk?

By keeping credit costs low, improving collection practices, and focusing on better-performing customer groups.

Are SBI Cards revenues growing?

Yes. Revenue for Q4 was ₹4,832 crore (up 8% YoY), and for the full year, it stood at ₹18,637 crore.

What are the plans for FY26?

SBI Cards plans to grow spends by 18–20%, add new customers steadily, and invest in improving digital tools.

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SBI Cards continues to grow steadily in a fast-changing payment space. With strong digital tools, new card offerings, and a focus on risk control, it remains one of the key players in India’s credit card market. The strategy for FY26 is clear—grow with caution, serve better, and stay profitable.

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