NEW DELHI Sky-rocketing fuel prices in 2021 drove consumers to look for any discount possible in fuel rates, so much so that that the demand for credit cards that provide benefits on fuel has risen by 10 times in the last one year, says a report by online loan and financial products aggregator BankBazaar.
The share of fuel credit cards have gone up to 13.1% of the overall cards, up from 4.95% last year.
Another intresting trend, is the increase in women credit card holders. The percentage of women credit card customers grew almost 50%, from 8.41% last year to 12% this year. The below-25 years age group has been the most aggressive in adopting credit cards, and grew strongly at 175% compared to all other cohorts, which grew at roughly 100%.
According to the report, women are also more conscious of their financial habits compared to men. Over 72% women chalked up a score of credit score 700 or more, compared with 66% men. Even in the high scores category, 40% women reported scores of 800+ compared to 35.6% men. Overall, salaried people had better scores compared to self-employed. Here, 69.2% salaried people had a score of 700+ compared to 61.25 self-employed people. Only 27.5% of self-employed people had scores above 800 compared to 40% salaried.
Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar.com, said: “In the last few of years, there is greater transparency on how interest rates on credit products are set, and the role of credit score in the entire process. Consequently, people understand the need for a good credit score, and are actively tracking them. Women, especially, have been doing a better job of maintaining a good credit score, and thereby improving their chances of accessing credit. Nevertheless, there are gaps that need to be filled. While 67% people who check their credit score on BankBazaar had a score of 700+, only 36% of them had a score of 800+ – a score that would enable you to get the best rate on any credit product from most financial institutions. It is for this reason that our first co-branded credit card has regular credit fitness reports as one of its USPs.”
Also, as shopping from home took centerstage, rewards cards have bounced back and have grown over 100 per cent in the last one year.
With customized rewards, cashbacks, and o¬ffers on online and offline shopping for essentials, luxury, lifestyle spends, and entertainment, shopping cards are looking more attractive than ever, and the demand seems set to rise in the coming year as well, said the report.
The BankBazaar report also pointed out that the average ticket size for personal loans has dropped for the fourth consecutive year from Rs 1.92 lakh to Rs 1.86 lakh. However, for the first time, the average ticket size for women at Rs 1.87 lakh was marginally higher than that of men at Rs 1.86 lakh.
The non-metro average loan ticket size fell sharply to Rs 1.73 lakh this year from Rs2.19 lakh last year. Metros climbed up to an average loan ticket size of Rs 1.91 lakh from last year’s average of Rs 1.87 lakh, overtaking the non-metros.
Turnaround year for home loans
Despite reversals from the second wave of the pandemic, the year has been a time of growth for home loans.
The average ticket size for home loans soared to Rs 28.43 lakh in the first quarter of the current financial year from Rs 27.74 lakh in the previous quarter. This plummeted with the second wave, in Q2, but since the third quarter onwards, the ticket sizes have been picking up again.
The largest personal loan taken was of Rs 15 lakh by a woman in Pune, while the largest home loan amounted to Rs 1.6 crore by a man in Mumbai.
