Enabling
Access

Create awareness and build phygital (mix of digital and physical) pathways to bring her onto financial platforms

Principles at a glance

  • 01

    Let the offline lead the online

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  • 02

    Embed within her real life

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  • 03

    Start multi-modal by default to cater to her technology and literacy level

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  • 04

    Don’t stop at access —show her that she belongs at each step

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Principles in action

Let the offline lead the online

Principle 01

Many low-income women are smartphone sharers instead of owners. They may not fully control when they can access a device, making usage patterns infrequent and unpredictable. Because women juggle multiple household responsibilities, they often have limited time to learn to use a smartphone at all, much less net new digital services. Increase access by creating phygital systems that include offline touchpoints to help build awareness, trust, and ultimately adoption.

Principle 02

Embed within her real life

Many women have limited access to formal financial services due to structural barriers, time constraints, and even limited mobility. She can take part more easily when finance is integrated seamlessly in her everyday life, like while she’s buying household goods, participating in community activities, or at her workplace.

Principle 03

Start multi-modal by default to cater to her technology baseline

In the last mile, women tend to have lower literacy and digital confidence levels relative to men. Women typically have more affordable, lower-quality phones which are more likely to be handed down and older model. Relying on conventional textual and numerical interfaces can lead women to internalize lower levels of digital confidence. Designing for interaction paradigms that may be more familiar to her, like voice, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), multi-lingual text, and other interventions can go a long way in improving comprehension.

Principle 04

Don’t stop at access —show her that she belongs at each step

A product that is available to women, but is not relevant to or usable by them, does not actually improve access. 

When you build your product’s look and feel, consider what patterns will make her feel welcomed, culturally familiar, safe, and supported throughout the experience.

Explore other moments in
Women x Finance

  • Creating Value

    Show her that you have designed with her specific needs in mind

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  • Onboarding and Verification

    Make onboarding feel trustworthy, intuitive and empowering

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  • Creating Access for Others

    Help her inspire and support other women around her

    Explore

  • Managing Money in Groups

    Empower women to effectively leverage group based financial tools (like saving circles, SHGs, chit funds, etc.) to gain financial freedom

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