DBS Bank to enter India’s credit card market next year

The Singapore-based lender’s move highlights its efforts to tap growth outside its home market to offset weakness in the local economy. “We will launch our credit card by the second, or the third quarter of next year,” said Shantanu Sengupta, head, consumer banking, DBS in India. Global rivals, such as Citigroup (C.N), are also looking to expand their credit card customer base in India. Earlier this year, Paytm announced plans to launch a card with Citi, giving the US bank an opportunity to service some of Paytm’s more than 300 mn clients. India’s credit card market is still small in comparison to its debit card market. The latest data from May showed 48.9 mn credit card users in the country, compared with some 825 mn with debit cards.