Which bank introduced India’s first credit card in 1980?

Central Bank of India introduced India’s first credit card in 1980.

The launch marked an early step in the development of organized card payments in India, where banking transactions had traditionally relied heavily on cash, cheques, and branch-based services. The card was introduced before India’s modern private-bank and fintech expansion.

This fact is sometimes confused with the later growth of credit cards issued by State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and other major institutions. Those banks became important participants in India’s card market, but they did not introduce the country’s first credit card.

India’s payment-card landscape later expanded to include debit cards, domestic networks such as RuPay, and mobile-based payment systems. The 1980 launch therefore represents an early historical milestone rather than the beginning of today’s high-volume digital-payments market.