Financial technology (fintech) has often been described as a powerful facilitator of financial inclusion. And in recent years, it has enabled significant progress in access to financial services—including savings, credit, insurance, payments and digital remittances—for previously underserved populations. But when it comes to women’s inclusion, we still have a long way to go.
To find out how companies fintech are delivering on the promise of women’s financial inclusion, and what practices work, we consulted industry experts. The results of a study by the International Finance Corporation March, based on a survey of 114 companies fintech The findings from 17 countries are revealing. While 59% of the companies included in the study collect sex-disaggregated customer data, only 32% use this information to inform the design and delivery of financial services to women. Instead, companies tend to adopt a “gender-neutral” strategy, which does not directly address how to reach women at scale. So it should perhaps come as no surprise that for a majority of service providers, the data is not gender-neutral. fintechwomen make up less than 25% of their business clients.
Paradoxically, the report also found that executives at most companies viewed women as valuable customers: more loyal, less risk-averse, and with higher payout rates than men. The study’s results reinforce this assertion: While only a small percentage of companies surveyed tailor products and services to women, the majority of those that do (63%) said that female customers generate higher customer lifetime value than men.
These companies can offer valuable models for others. Consider the case of Colombian digital lender Juancho Te Presta: Recognizing that women have higher loan approval rates and lower default rates, the company began using data analytics to tailor credit products and terms to meet the needs and preferences of female customers. For example, it tested credit products just for women with a reduction in financing costs of around 15%.
In the same way, mfarmPay (A company of fintech mfarmPay (a Ghana and Kenya-based company) found that women farmers show better loan repayment patterns and that their farming activity over time tends to be more consistent than that of men, who are prone to switching activities. As a result, the company began considering gender-related factors along with geodata in credit scoring, thereby bridging the lending gap between financial institutions and smallholder farmers. The strong presence of women in mfarmPay’s management team helps the company identify gender-related constraints and guides product design and features.
Women make up a huge market segment, with growing economic and social power
The company Indifibased in India, developed small, short-term loans to help women-led micro, small and medium-sized businesses build credit histories. A company fintech An Egyptian company has developed a mobile wallet solution that enables the secure and instant delivery of monthly social transfers, thereby helping women save time and travel costs, and avoid potential harassment. There are also companies that use alternative data sources to generate credit histories for female clients. Others offer literacy and digital business training to women across financial services, hire gender-diverse groups of agents, and work with telecom companies to offer financial services targeted to female farmers. And yet, overall, the industry fintech is still failing to seize the opportunity to accelerate financial inclusion for women.
The business case for action is clear. Women make up a huge market segment, with growing economic and social power. They also tend to display greater customer loyalty, greater financial discipline, better credit performance and longer-lasting deposits. Women’s financial inclusion leads to job creation, higher productivity and faster GDP growth. There are even links between women’s inclusion and climate-conscious business and investment decisions.
When it comes to understanding, valuing and investing in the inclusion of women, the industry fintech is not moving fast enough. And speed is of the essence: without a dramatic acceleration of women’s financial inclusion, gender bias may become embedded in the digital financial services industry.
The good news is that, as a relatively nascent industry, fintech can still incorporate gender inclusion into its design and delivery. As our research shows, a number of fintech companies are already developing a fintech have already discovered the potential of gender-inclusive design. This must become the rule, not the exception.
You can follow Future Planet in X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and subscribe here to our newsletter.
#loyal #customers #prone #risk #payment #rates
