A new study from DBS Bank India finds that 84% of female entrepreneurs surveyed use digital payment tools, the highest adoption of any group, with women across India increasingly engaging with credit, lending and investment platforms.
The report, The Digital Opportunity: Access, Adoption and Trust, is the second in the bank’s Women and Finance series, produced with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India as research partner and released on 26 June ahead of MSME Day. It draws on responses from 1,342 women across North (23%), South (36%), East (14%) and West (27%) India, spanning female entrepreneurs, high-net-worth women and rural women earners.
Female entrepreneurs emerged as the most active users of digital financial tools. UPI usage stood at 72% among female entrepreneurs, 77% among HNW women and 54% among rural women earners. Beyond payments, 38% of female entrepreneurs surveyed use loan and credit platforms and 29% use brokerage platforms, while 28% of HNW women use brokerage platforms for investments.
Credit card use is also rising among urban female earners. Half of female entrepreneurs reported using personal credit cards frequently, 19% daily and 31% a few times a week. Among HNW women, 53% use credit cards, the second most-used payment method after UPI. Travel-related rewards were the most preferred credit card benefit, cited by 65% of respondents, rising to 70% among HNW women aged 25 to 30 and 68% among female entrepreneurs aged 26 to 35.
The study also broke down spending. Among female entrepreneurs, spending concentrated on staff salaries and contractor payments (65%), marketing and customer acquisition (53%) and software and technology tools (37%). For rural women earners, expenditure went largely to raw materials (82%), rent (47%) and transportation to market (35%). HNW women’s spending was more diversified, led by groceries and daily essentials (50%), utility bills (32%), healthcare (28%) and travel (27%).
Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director and Country Head, Global Transaction Services, Corporate Banking, Financial Institutions and SMEs at DBS Bank India, said:
“Among female entrepreneurs, digital tools are becoming increasingly integral to business management, supporting everything from payments, credit and payroll to customer acquisition and future planning. The study also underscores the importance of trust, convenience, and accessibility in driving digital adoption.”
The report builds on the first in the series, Money Matters: Mindsets, Financial Agency and Behaviour Across Life and Career Stages, released earlier in the year on International Women’s Day, which examined women earners’ financial autonomy, life goals and long-term financial preparedness.
DBS has been present in India for over 30 years, having opened its first office in Mumbai in 1994. It was the first among the large foreign banks in India to operate as a wholly owned, locally incorporated subsidiary, and following its 2020 merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank, it now operates across around 350 locations in 19 Indian states.
