The number of credit cards in the country has fallen by a huge 27 per cent to just over 206 lakh since the start of the last fiscal, reflecting the frugal times with the onset of the global financial crisis.

According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) February Bulletin, the number of outstanding credit cards stood at 283.12 lakh in April 2008, which declined to 206.45 lakh in December 2009, a fall of 27.1 per cent.

The meltdown in the appetite for consuming on future income is also reflected in the volume of credit card transactions that fell by about 10 per cent during the April-December period in 2009 over the same period in 2008.

Credit card transactions declined by over Rs 4,800 crore to Rs 45,756.47 crore in the first nine months of this fiscal against Rs 50,578.92 crore in the year-ago period. On the other hand, the number of outstanding debit cards vaulted by over 62 per cent to 1,705.68 lakh in December 2009 against 1,049.91 lakh in April 2008.

The faith in living on income already earned is further showcased in the rise in volume of debit card transactions. Debit card payments jumped by over 40 per cent to Rs 19,288.83 crore in the first three quarters of the current fiscal against Rs 13,722.44 crore in the year-ago period, the RBI said.