A new hierarchy has emerged in the Indian wallet. According to the latest data from the Worldline and RBI Q3 2025 report, the “Plastic Era” is splitting into two distinct lanes: Credit Cards have claimed the throne for high-value aspirational spending, while UPI has effectively monopolized everyday micro-transactions.
1. The Decline of the ‘Daily’ Debit Card
The most striking takeaway for Odisha News readers is the sharp decline of the debit card. Once the workhorse of digital India, debit card usage at Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals and online has plummeted:
The Numbers: Transaction volumes fell 22% year-on-year.
The Value: Total value dropped 13%, falling to ₹1.12 Lakh Crore.
The Shift: Debit cards are being relegated to a single purpose: ATM withdrawals. For everything else—from a ₹10 tea in Cuttack to ₹2,000 groceries in Bhubaneswar—the friction of a physical card cannot compete with the speed of a UPI scan.
2. Credit Cards: The High-Value Powerhouse
While debit cards fade, credit cards are witnessing a “Golden Age,” driven by a middle class increasingly comfortable with EMI-led consumption.
Growth Surge: Credit card transactions rose 26% this quarter, reaching 145 Crore (1.45 billion) transactions.
The Expenditure: Total spending reached a massive ₹6.07 Lakh Crore.
The Strategy: Consumers are strategically using credit cards to maximize rewards on high-ticket items like electronics and travel. The integration of RuPay Credit Cards with UPI has further fueled this, allowing users to spend on credit even at small shops.
3. UPI: The “Air” of the Economy
UPI has moved beyond being a “feature” to becoming a basic utility across the state.
Hyper-Frequency: UPI transaction volumes jumped 33.5% this quarter.
Micro-transactions: The Average Ticket Size (ATS) for UPI continues to drop (now around ₹1,262), proving that it is penetrating the “bottom of the pyramid”—payments for vegetables, bus tickets, and street food.
4. The “Prepaid” Middle Ground
Interestingly, prepaid cards and wallets are seeing a 24% growth in issuance. These are becoming the preferred tool for recurring subscriptions (Netflix, Utility bills) and corporate payouts, offering a layer of security by keeping these transactions separate from a user’s primary bank account.
Strategic Insights: What This Means for You
For the Consumer: The “Payment Stack” is now specialized. Smart spenders use UPI for speed, Credit Cards for rewards, and keep Debit Cards for emergencies.
For the Merchant: Physical card machines (PoS) are no longer enough. The focus has shifted to “SoftPoS” and high-density QR presence to capture the 70.9 Crore (709 million) active QR users in India.
For the Banks: The “Debit Card Fee” revenue model is dying. Banks are now pivoting toward Credit-on-UPI to maintain profitability.
The Verdict: India is no longer just “going digital”—it has become a Scan-First economy. The humble debit card is now a relic of a pre-UPI world.