New Delhi, July 10 -- Half of India's new-to-credit card (NTCC) consumers are now Gen Z and nearly half live in semi-urban and rural markets, according to a new TransUnion CIBIL whitepaper that points to a broader shift in how credit cards are being adopted and used in India.

The report, Beyond the Swipe 2026: How India Uses Card as a Credit Instrument, said 50% of NTCC consumers were aged 30 years or below as of March 2026, up from 43% in March 2022. At the same time, 46% of NTCC consumers lived in semi-urban and rural markets, compared with 42% four years earlier.

The findings suggest that credit cards are no longer expanding only through metro-led customer acquisition, but are increasingly reaching younger borrowers and consumers in ...