FinanceCredit cards
Credit card issuers in India
Which Indian banks are worth a credit card application, which are not, and which bank actually issues each fintech card.
Seven issuers cover almost everything worth having: HDFC, SBI Cards, ICICI, Axis, Amex, IndusInd, and IDFC FIRST. The rest of the list exists so you can tell a card you want from a card that only costs you an enquiry.
Tier 1 issuers are worth an application on their own merits, tier 2 for a specific card, tier 3 and 4 only for a co-brand you actually want or a bank you already deal with. Card names and partnerships were checked in September 2026, and this is the part of the page that rots fastest.
Issuers
| Issuer | Tier | Type | Why hold it |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank | 1 | Private | Largest premium lineup and the deepest merchant offer coverage. Tata Neu is still on, though the trick of earning NeuCoins on rival cards routed through the app died on 1 May 2026. Swiggy HDFC stopped taking new applications on 10 Feb 2026 and existing holders are moving to Swiggy Ornge or BLCK |
| SBI Cards | 1 | Private (SBI arm) | Cashback card plus the widest co-branded range, including the Reliance SBI Card on RuPay |
| ICICI Bank | 1 | Private | Amazon Pay co-brand, renewed in 2025 but now largely invite led, plus consistently strong merchant sale offers |
| Axis Bank | 1 | Private | Travel and premium stack, Flipkart co-brand, the super.money RuPay card, the Google Pay co-brand from late 2025, and now Scapia as well |
| American Express | 1 | Foreign | Membership Rewards is the strongest transferable currency here. Acceptance is thinner than Visa or Mastercard, so it cannot be the only card |
| HSBC | 1 | Foreign | Live+ and TravelOne, both still being issued. Eligibility is limited by city and income, from about Rs 4 lakh a year at entry level |
| IndusInd Bank | 1 | Private | Tiger, Pinnacle, EazyDiner, and the CRED co-brand from Sept 2025. Several LTF invite routes |
| IDFC FIRST Bank | 1 | Private | Deepest LTF portfolio and an easy entry point. Also one of the OneCard issuing banks |
| AU Small Finance Bank | 1 | Small finance | Premium lineup unusual for an SFB, aggressive LTF campaigns, and now a Kiwi issuer |
| Yes Bank | 1 | Private | Marquee and Reserv, plus the main Kiwi issuing bank |
| Kotak Mahindra Bank | 2 | Private | Solid LTF options and sale-event offers. RBI barred new card issuance in April 2024 and lifted it in Feb 2025, so the lineup is worth a fresh look |
| Standard Chartered | 2 | Foreign | Smart and Ultimate. Narrow eligibility |
| RBL Bank | 2 | Private | Broad co-branded portfolio, about 44 lakh active cards, and the issuer behind UNI |
| Federal Bank | 2 | Private | Issues Scapia and some OneCard products |
| Slice Small Finance Bank | 2 | Small finance | Fintech-led experience on its own banking licence after the North East SFB merger closed in Oct 2024. Launched a UPI linked credit card in June 2025 |
| Bank of Baroda (BOBCARD) | 3 | PSU | Easy approvals. Issues both OneCard and Scapia |
| CSB Bank | 3 | Private | Issues OneCard and the Jupiter Edge and Edge+ RuPay cards |
| DBS Bank | 3 | Foreign | Small travel-focused range |
| Other PSU banks | 4 | PSU | PNB, Canara, Union, Indian Bank, BoI, UCO, Central, Maharashtra, Punjab and Sind, IDBI. Weak reward structures and dated apps. PNB and Indian Bank matter only as issuing banks behind Kiwi and OneCard. Worth an enquiry only for a specific co-brand or a relationship you already have |
| Other small finance banks | 4 | Small finance | Equitas, Utkarsh, Jana, Ujjivan, ESAF, Suryoday. Mostly the regulated issuer behind a fintech card rather than a card brand you would chase |
Fintech-led cards
The fintech runs the app and the rewards, a regulated bank issues the card. An application still hits your report as an enquiry with the underlying bank, so count it against that issuer, not the brand. That also means two fintech cards can quietly be one issuer relationship.
| Programme | Issuing bank | Note |
|---|---|---|
| OneCard | BOBCARD, CSB, Federal, IDFC FIRST, SBM, South Indian Bank, Indian Bank | You do not pick the issuer, the app routes the application. New issuance has been paused across partner banks since early 2026 while RBI reviews the partnership and data sharing setup. Existing cards are unaffected |
| Scapia | Federal Bank, BOBCARD, Axis Bank | Travel and forex focused. Axis is the newest issuer |
| Jupiter Edge and Edge+ | CSB Bank | RuPay, built around UPI rewards |
| super.money | Axis Bank | Flipkart owned. LTF RuPay card, 3% cashback on UPI scan and pay through the app, 1% elsewhere, capped at Rs 500 a cycle |
| Kiwi | Yes Bank, PNB, AU Small Finance Bank | RuPay credit on UPI. Older cards sit with Axis, new applications route to one of the three current issuers |
| Google Pay | Axis Bank | Co-branded UPI-first card launched late 2025 |
| CRED | IndusInd Bank | RuPay co-brand launched Sept 2025, Rs 499 annual fee, no joining fee |
| slice | Slice Small Finance Bank | Issues on its own licence now rather than through a partner |
| UNI | RBL Bank | The programme changed shape after the RBI action on card-based credit lines. Verify what is actually on offer before applying |
| Amazon Pay | ICICI Bank | Counts as your ICICI card |
| Flipkart | Axis Bank | Counts as your Axis card. Devalued in June 2025, lounge access gone |
| Tata Neu | HDFC Bank | Counts as an HDFC card |
| Swiggy | HDFC Bank | Counts as an HDFC card. Closed to new applications since Feb 2026 |
Coverage across issuers is goal 1 in portfolio-goals, and the enquiry spacing that makes it possible is in do's and don'ts.