Key Evidence

The gender gap in digital financial capability reflects structural inequalities in access to devices, literacy, and relevant education that disproportionately affect women, and are compounded by social norms that limit their exposure to and practice with technology.

• Sending money to the wrong recipient, often due to errors in entering phone numbers or proxy IDs, is relatively uncommon in Latin America and the Caribbean and in South Asia, while in Sub-Saharan Africa, 9% of adults (equivalent to nearly one-quarter of mobile money account owners) reported making such errors. (Global Findex, 2025)
• Traditional financial literacy approaches have been found ineffective in building digital financial capability, particularly for women who start from lower educational levels. Social norms make peer and role model learning critical in building digital capability; women need to build confidence and trust with digital financial services before fully engaging. (Dimova and Arnold, 2021)
• A study across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa found that digital literacy is a stronger driver of positive financial behavior than financial literacy — with marginal effects for digital literacy exceeding those for financial literacy across every financial behavior studied, including saving and borrowing. For example, a one-unit increase in digital literacy increased the likelihood of formal saving by 7.8%, compared to 6.9% for financial literacy. The authors conclude that digital literacy may offer a more efficient and less costly tool for building financial resilience, particularly in markets where DFS is expanding rapidly. (ADB, 2020) 
• A 2025 survey of financial services providers (FSPs) found that only 11% of institutions viewed the challenge of low digital financial capability as an easy barrier to resolve. (Women’s World Banking, 2025)

In South and Southeast Asia, the convergence of low literacy rates, restrictive social norms, and unfamiliar technology creates particularly acute digital capability barriers for women — making the first DFS interaction feel high-stakes and difficult to navigate without in-person support.

• Women’s World Banking found that female garment factory workers in Bangladesh received their salaries digitally through Rocket mobile money accounts but primarily used them only to cash out once a month. To address this limited usage, Women’s World Banking partnered with Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. (DBBL) to enhance customer engagement and build digital financial capabilities. The initiative promoted active account usage through a learning-by-doing approach, teaching women how to perform self-initiated transactions such as person-to-person (P2P) transfers. This use case strongly resonated with the workers, demonstrating how targeted, hands-on training can shift behavior from passive to active use of digital accounts. (Women’s World Banking, 2021)
• Women customers at one microfinance institution (MFI) in Pakistan feel intimidated using banking apps due to concerns around security and the complexity of financial transactions. To address this, the MFI simplified its digital user interfaces and conducted user testing with women across different age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds to better understand their preferences and usability needs. (Women's World Banking, 2025)