India’s women are safer borrowers yet underserved by financial products; present ₹2 lakh crore opportunity

India’s financial ecosystem has expanded rapidly over the past decade, but women remain significantly underrepresented across most financial products despite emerging as one of the most reliable and fast-growing customer segments, according to a new report by RedSeer Strategy Consultants.

The report, Designing for Her: Unlocking Women’s FinTech Adoption in India, argues that the real barrier is not access but adoption. While digital infrastructure and financial inclusion initiatives have broadened access to banking, payments, credit and investment products, women still hold a smaller share across nearly every major financial category.

For instance, women account for only 17% of active personal loans and 13% of outstanding credit card portfolios, according to the study. Their participation is also limited in investments: women represent 34% of mutual fund assets under management and 27% of new life insurance policies, highlighting a persistent gender gap in financial product usage. 

Yet the report notes that women are proving to be a high-quality cohort for the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector.

“Unlocking women’s financial adoption isn’t about inventing entirely new products; it’s about reframing how we deliver trust and relevance,” said Jasbir S. Juneja, partner at RedSeer Strategy Consultants. “The data clearly shows that women are emerging as one of the highest-quality cohorts in BFSI, disciplined borrowers, consistent savers, and goal-oriented investors.”

Access has grown, but adoption lags

India’s broader financial inclusion indicators show steady progress. The country’s Financial Inclusion Index rose from 46 in March 2018 to 67 in March 2025, showing deeper penetration of formal banking systems and digital payments. At the same time, digital infrastructure has brought more women into the financial ecosystem. 

Women now constitute 47% of India’s internet users, up from 20% a decade ago, and their adoption of digital payments has grown faster than men’s. Still, participation in higher-value financial products such as credit, insurance and investments remains limited. 

This gap persists even though women often display stronger financial behaviour. The study shows 66% of women borrowers fall in prime credit score categories, compared with 60% of men, while their loan delinquency rate stands at 1.6% versus 2.2% for men. Women investors have also recorded faster growth in average investment folio size in recent years.

According to experts, this combination of reliability and growth potential makes women one of the most attractive yet underpenetrated segments for financial services.

A ₹2 lakh cr opportunity for BFSI

The opportunity is vast. The report estimates that around 75 million working women in India represent a scalable BFSI market, cutting across income segments. Tailored financial offerings for women could unlock nearly ₹2,00,000 billion in potential assets under management, alongside significant opportunities in lending and insurance.

However, the challenge lies in how financial products are designed and communicated.

The study argues that most financial journeys today are built around male behaviour patterns and later adapted for women. As a result, women tend to rely more heavily on community signals and family validation before making financial decisions.

In fact, about four in five women rely on family members for financial advice, making family approval a key trigger for financial adoption. Lack of information also remains the biggest barrier: 54% of women cited inadequate information as their primary hesitation in trying new financial products.

Juneja believes addressing these trust gaps will determine the next phase of growth for financial platforms.

“The next decade of growth will belong to platforms that move from access to assurance,” he said. “Bridging the information and confidence gap is not a marketing exercise; it is a structural redesign opportunity. When you enable a woman to take informed financial decisions, you are not just acquiring a user, you are anchoring the long-term financial resilience of an entire household. That is where the real, compounding value lies.”