MUMBAI, July 30 — In March 2017, 11% of India’s credit-eligible consumers had an active loan or card. By March 2026 the figure was 28%. TransUnion CIBIL put the numbers out in a report titled “Unlocking Access: Journey of Credit Expansion in India,” and they show a lending market that has changed in who it reaches as much as in size.
The pool of eligible consumers grew from 79 crore to 89 crore over the nine years. Within it, the share of people who had taken formal credit at least once more than doubled, from 35% to 74%.
Growth is slowing, and moving
The pace has cooled. The compounded annual growth rate of credit-active consumers was 14% between March 2017 and 2019, and 9% between March 2024 and 2026. New-to-credit borrowers made up 32% of retail originations at the start and 13% now.
Geography has shifted too. Maharashtra’s share of credit-active consumers slipped from 12% to 10%, and Tamil Nadu’s from 11% to 9%. Uttar Pradesh rose from 8% to 11%, Madhya Pradesh from 4% to 6% and Bihar from 3% to 5%. Across the country, semi-urban and rural consumers now account for 63% of the credit-active base, against 53% in 2017.
“Today, the most populous state in the country also has the highest proportion of credit active consumers in the state,” said Bhavesh Jain, managing director and chief executive of TransUnion CIBIL. Consumers there, he said, have moved from informal credit to the formal sector.
Who is borrowing
Women’s share of credit-active consumers went from 22% to 30%. Women with more than five years of credit history rose from 29% to 43%. Young borrowers moved from 33% to 39%.
The products changed as well. Consumption credit, meaning personal loans, credit cards and consumer durable loans, is held by 51% of credit-active consumers, up from 34%. Business-oriented credit grew tenfold in consumer numbers. Jain pointed to a telling detail about first-time borrowers: before Covid, two-wheeler loans brought in the largest share of new-to-credit customers, while now consumer durables do, with an average ticket of Rs 38,000. In his words, that is the mid-range phone and mid-range household goods.
Not every number is comfortable. Originations to over-leveraged borrowers climbed from 5% in FY2017 to 18% in FY2024, before easing to 15% in FY2026.
Jain tied the decade to demonetisation, the introduction of GST and the spread of UPI, with lenders, fintechs and digital public infrastructure widening access, and the Covid pandemic speeding up digital tools.
Sources
- Move over Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu — UP, MP and Bihar are big drivers of India's credit growth
- Women, Young Borrowers and Smaller Cities Drive India's Credit Boom: TransUnion CIBIL
- First-time borrowers deepen credit reach
