Digital India’s New Catalyst: 84% of Female Entrepreneurs in India Now Leverage Digital Payment Tools

MUMBAI: Ahead of MSME Day 2026, DBS Bank India, in partnership with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTI LLP), has unveiled the second report in its Women and Finance series. Titled “The Digital Opportunity: Access, Adoption and Trust,” the study highlights a powerful shift in India’s economic landscape, revealing that female entrepreneurs have emerged as the most active and proficient users of digital financial tools across the country.

The comprehensive survey gathered insights from 1,342 women across India—spanning female entrepreneurs, High-Net-Worth (HNW) individuals, and rural women earners—to evaluate how tech accessibility is shaping their financial journeys.

Beyond Transactions: Women Shape India’s Financial Ecosystem

The findings underscore that Indian women are moving significantly beyond basic banking. While the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) remains the most ubiquitous infrastructure, female business owners are deeply integrating advanced credit and investment software into their daily operations.

Furthermore, personal credit cards are rapidly gaining momentum in urban sectors. Half (50%) of the surveyed entrepreneurs and 53% of HNW women use credit cards frequently. Interestingly, travel-related rewards—including airline miles, hotel offers, and airport lounge access—topped the list of preferred benefits, particularly among younger cohorts aged 25 to 35.

Divergent Spending Patterns: Where the Capital Flows

The study analyzed spending data to identify core spending priorities across different economic segments:

• Entrepreneurs (Growth & Tech): Capital expenditure is heavily concentrated on business scaling. Top expenses include staff payroll and contractor payments (65%), followed by marketing, branding, and customer acquisition (53%), and software or tech infrastructure (37%).

• Rural Earners (Core Operations): Expenditure remains strictly practical and tied to immediate business survival. An overwhelming 82% goes toward raw materials, 47% toward rent, and 35% for transporting goods to local markets.

• HNW Individuals (Lifestyle & Security): Financial distribution is balanced across premium essentials and discretionary categories, led by daily groceries (50%), utility bills (32%), healthcare (28%), and leisure travel (27%).

“Digital tools have become deeply structural to business management,” noted Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director and Country Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank India. “To sustain this momentum, the financial sector must look past traditional banking and build connected digital ecosystems that empower female leaders at every single stage of their corporate journey.