Prime Highlights
- Digital payment tools are used by 84% of female entrepreneurs, making them the most active adopters across all groups surveyed.
- DBS Bank India’s study covered 1,342 women across four regions, tracking digital adoption among entrepreneurs, HNW women and rural earners.
Key Facts
- DBS Bank India is a subsidiary of Singapore-based DBS Group, one of Asia’s largest financial services groups.
- UPI usage among rural women earners stood at 54%, underlining the expanding reach of India’s digital payments infrastructure beyond urban centres.
Background
Digital financial tools are playing an increasingly central role in how women entrepreneurs in India run their businesses, a new study by DBS Bank India has found. Released ahead of MSME Day 2026 and produced with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP, the report draws on responses from 1,342 women across North, South, East and West India, covering female entrepreneurs, High-Net-Worth (HNW) women and rural women earners.
Female entrepreneurs emerged as the most active users of digital financial tools across all groups surveyed. Usage of digital payment solutions is highest at 84%, whereas use of UPI was highest at 72% by female entrepreneurs, 77% by HNW women, and 54% by rural women, suggesting an expanding footprint of the digital payments ecosystem in India.
Credit and investment tools are gaining ground, too. Some 38% of female entrepreneurs use loans and credit sites, and 29% use broker sites. 28 per cent of high-net-worth women use brokers. 50% use personal credit cards (up from 40% in 2018). More women entrepreneurs are using credit cards. The most preferred reward for travel is preferred by 65% of both female entrepreneurs and HNW women.
Spending priorities lean towards people, growth and technology. Some 65% spend on staff salaries and contractor payments, 53% on marketing and customer acquisition, and 37% on software and technology tools.
Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director and Country Head for Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank India, said the findings point to an encouraging shift in how women engage with their finances, and that the bank aims to help female entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses by continuing to innovate in response to evolving needs.
