The study found that for women, the biggest savings targets are the education of their children. (Representative image)
About 78% of the women surveyed cited cash withdrawal as the top reason for visiting a store for financial transactions.
Awareness about financial services such as insurance among women, especially those in the 18-35 age bracket, will grow to 29% by 2022, but consumption is still below 1%, according to a new study.
Among insurance, they prefer life insurance and health, it added.
The findings are based on input from 5,000 stores where women in this age group engaged in financial transactions.
The research was conducted by Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, an RBI subsidiary that facilitates hassle-free financing, and digital payment network Paynearby.
The survey also found that cash withdrawal, mobile phone recharge and bill payment are the top three services used by women in such stores. Other preferred services include PAN card applications, entertainment, e-commerce and travel.
For women, the biggest savings goals are their children’s education, with more than 68% of them citing a good education for their children as a priority for them, saving for medical emergencies and purchasing household electronic items.
The study added that cash still remains strong, with about 48% of the women in the study preferring to trade in cash.
At the same time, UPI has seen good growth in adoption among women, with preferences ranging from 5-20%. Credit cards are still little to no recalled and used by women, the survey found.
According to the survey, more than 75% of retailers said women aged 18-40 are the most digitally savvy, and more than 60% of them own smartphones and access digital content through them.
About 78% of women cited cash withdrawal as the main reason for visiting a store for financial transactions.
The report went on to say that while over 74% of women self-manage their bank accounts, these are primarily for ATM withdrawals and deposits. Interestingly, for more than 20%, their spouses manage their bank accounts, the study found.
Meanwhile, a report from Anarock stated that at least 65% of female respondents to their survey said they prefer to invest in real estate, followed by 20% who prefer the stock markets and 8% of them in gold.
The report added that 83% of the female respondents are looking at houses priced above Rs 45 lakh. Affordable housing below this price is the least preferred, the report said. read more
(with PTI inputs)
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