It starts with one thing. A new kurta for the puja. Then someone mentions the family dinner needs to be somewhere nicer this year. Then the kids want new clothes. Then you remember the home needs some lighting for Diwali. Then your cousin is getting married in November and you need an outfit for that too. And somewhere between the first purchase and the fourth, you stop counting.
The festive season in India is genuinely wonderful and genuinely expensive, often at the same time. From Navratri through Dussehra, Diwali, and straight into the wedding season, the last quarter of the year demands more from Indian households financially than almost any other time. It is not just the big purchases. It is the accumulation of dozens of small ones, each of which feels entirely reasonable in isolation, and all of which arrive together.
For years, most people handled this one of two ways. Either they saved through the year specifically for this period, which required a level of planning that life does not always cooperate with, or they stretched what they had and quietly stressed about it until January. A third option existed, borrowing from family or taking a personal loan, but neither was particularly quick or particularly appealing.
Digital credit has changed the arithmetic in a way that feels genuinely different.
The shift that snuck up on everyone
Digital credit is not a new idea. But the speed, accessibility, and flexibility of it today is something different from what existed even three years ago. Approvals that can come through in minutes rather than days, often without branch visits or lengthy paperwork, and EMI options that let you spread a purchase across three or six months without a credit card attached to your name: this is the version of credit that is actually reaching people the formal credit system previously underserved.
The festive season has become one of the highest-demand periods for digital credit products, and that makes sense when you look at what people are spending on. Electronics are the obvious category, Diwali phone upgrades being something of a national tradition. But digital credit is also being used for jewellery, home renovation before guests arrive, clothing and travel for weddings. The numbers bear this out. According to a report by the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), based on data from credit bureau CRIF High Mark, the value of personal loans sanctioned by digital NBFCs grew by around 53 per cent year-on-year in the October-December quarter, which spans Navratri, Diwali and the start of the wedding season. That is a 53 per cent jump in value over the same quarter a year earlier.
For a household that has money coming in every month but does not have a large lump sum sitting available in October, the ability to make a purchase today and pay it off in manageable instalments removes a specific and very real kind of financial friction. The festive season no longer has to be a negotiation between what you can afford across the season and what one month’s bank balance allows.
Planning has become more possible
One of the less-discussed effects of digital credit is what it does to planning behaviour. When credit is difficult to access, people either overspend from anxiety or underspend from caution. When it is accessible and the terms are clear upfront, spending decisions become more deliberate.
A person who knows they can spread the cost of a Rs 30,000 purchase across six months with a fixed repayment they can see before they confirm the order is in a different cognitive position than someone who has to decide whether to drain savings or say no. The transparency of digital credit, when it is well-designed, can support more considered decision-making rather than undermining it.
This is particularly relevant for first-generation credit users, people accessing formal financial products for the first time, who are approaching borrowing with more caution and more curiosity than previous generations. They want to understand what they are signing up for before they sign. Digital platforms that offer that transparency are changing how this cohort relates to credit as a financial tool.
The season is here. The stress doesn’t have to be.
There is a version of the festive season that exists in everyone’s head: generous, joyful, present, not staring at bank balances between pujas. Digital credit, used thoughtfully, is one of the tools that is making that version more accessible to more people.
The key word is thoughtfully. The availability of credit is not a reason to spend without thinking. Before confirming, check the total cost of credit and whether the monthly repayment fits comfortably within your income – regulated lenders are required to show this upfront. A purchase that spreads comfortably across monthly repayments is a smart use of a financial tool. One that creates stress in February because October felt unlimited is not. Knowing the difference, and using digital credit as a bridge rather than a blank cheque, is what makes it genuinely useful rather than a problem deferred.
The festive season is expensive. It always has been. The difference now is that more people have a way to navigate that cost without it sitting entirely on one month’s bank account. That is a real change, and for a lot of families this October, it will make a real difference.
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