E-Paper
Opportunity and avenues to save critical to women’s access to finance
Account ownership alone cannot increase women’s ability to save formally. The solutions need more sex-disaggregated data and women-centric research
The Global Findex Database is a demand-side survey on financial inclusion run by the World Bank every three years to track how adults around the world access and use financial services. The latest survey findings released in 2025 are based on information collected from 1.45 lakh adults across 141 countries.
In India, almost 90% of women have ownership to a formal bank account, as reported in the 2025 Findex findings. This is an improvement from the 78% women with a bank account, as revealed from the 2021 Findex data. Further, there has been a decline in the inactive accounts for Indian women — in 2021, 32% women had inactive accounts and, by 2025, this had fallen to 18%. Account ownership is an important step for advancing women’s economic status and can potentially facilitate access to formal-sector financial services. However, does increase in account ownership alone lead to increased access to and use of financial services and does it translate into financial outcomes that women seek in their lives?
One such outcome is increased financial resilience or the ability to absorb financial shocks such as income loss or health crises and recover from it. The Findex data reports positive news as more women can come up with emergency funds to meet financial distress compared to a decade back. But, almost 3 out 4 women in 2025 felt it was “very difficult” to access this emergency money within a month.
What is really concerning is that merely 11% of women reported their savings to be the main source of funds to tackle emergencies. It means that most women do not have sufficient savings to cover unexpected expenses, indicating low financial resilience. Moreover, Findex data shows that almost 38% of women reported friends or family to be their main source of emergency funds compared to about 32% of men. It shows that women are more likely than men to rely on friends or family to loan them money in times of need making them more vulnerable to income shocks.
Notably, only 1 out of 5 women in the Findex survey state that in case of an income loss they could cover their expenses for more than two months using savings, borrowing, sale of an asset and other sources. About 65% could not even manage their expenses for a month when faced with loss of income. Taking a loan from relatives can also add to the constant worry about managing day-to-day or future finances. The Findex data reveals that most women worry about managing monthly expenses (34%) followed by paying school or education fees (27%), emergency medical costs (18%) and money for old age (12%).
One of the key reasons for these financial anxieties is low savings by women. Women in India do save though mostly informally, relying on cash, savings groups or chit funds. The 2026 LXME-EY India report, Unlocking Her Wealth –The Untapped Economy, reveals that about 72% of women do not use their bank accounts to hold savings. Less than a quarter of Indian women saved in banks and similar financial institutions, as per the Findex data. In comparison, 33% women used formal channels to save in developing economies. Studies have shown that when women, especially low-income women, save in formal savings products, they are better equipped to handle everyday expenses as well as emergencies and feel more in control of their financial lives. However, women’s ability to save formally is curbed by several gaps.
Low-income women tend to run micro businesses with small irregular incomes (UNCDF 2023). Going to deposit these small amounts at the bank costs time and money reflecting a structural issue with formal savings. Depositing with bank agents using the last-mile options implies compromising with their financial privacy from spouse or family.
From a behavioural perspective, women have key goals for saving money such as children’s education, emergencies such as hospitalisation, marriage in the household or investment in their business (WWB 2021). Juggling savings between pressing household expenses, long-term savings and business expenses while holding on to financial privacy makes it hard for women to stick to a savings plan, if there is one.
But mostly, it is the gendered social norms that dictate women to share their income with the husband and family leaving women with little to no power over their own income. Women have limited control over household financial decisions, due to which they struggle to separate their business savings from their household expenses.
In a nutshell, account ownership alone cannot increase women’s ability to save formally. The solutions need more sex-disaggregated data and women-centric research that identifies the financial needs and aspirations of women and women-entrepreneurs. Improved formal savings benefit women with stronger safety nets and an increased capacity to manage their personal, family, and business finance. So, it is imperative that financial institutions and policy provide women with the right tools and resources that encourage them to take up formal savings by addressing the structural, behavioural and social constraints.
Ankita Singh is a research consultant based in Mumbai. Sunit Arora is an assistant professor at Azim Premji University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The views expressed are personal
(This is a Hindustan Times Digital exclusive)
