Nearly half ofcredit and debit cards in India were inactive, possibly due to insufficientresources in bank accounts and a holding of more than one card, a study hassaid.

A study byEdgar, Dunn & Company (EDC) and India Cards Council (ICC) has revealed thatunlike in UK and Australia where 90 per cent cards are active, there are only56 per cent active debit cards in India. "There is a very low level ofdebit card usage at POS (Point of Sale) compared to other countries. Forexample: 26 per cent of active debit cards used at POS versus 86 per cent inthe US and 45 per cent in Australia," the studysaid.

"The very low costs associated with new cardholder acquisition mayindicate that insufficient resources are being applied to checking creditworthiness of applicants," it said. Another reason could be because ofinsufficient resources in cardholders bank accounts, itadded.

Debit cards are primarily used for ATM withdrawals, to support cash-basedtransactions, EDC said. In the credit card segment too, India only has 56 percent active cards against 80 per cent in Australia and 75 per cent inSingapore, the study said. Credit losses in India also are relatively highbecause of low level of transaction volume and value across the card base, EDCsaid.