Key Evidence

Reliable payment systems are critical to the effective use of digital financial services. Outages and disruptions lead to failed transactions and interruptions in economic activity. These failures disproportionately affect low-income women, who typically have lower levels of digital financial capability but rely on digital channels for small, time-sensitive transactions linked to informal work and micro-enterprises. Repeated transaction failures can erode trust and confidence in digital systems, discouraging continued use and reinforcing reliance on cash.

Reliable infrastructure underpins not only access to DFS but also user trust and sustained use. Disruptions in connectivity and transaction performance influence provider choice, reduce confidence, and can drive users - particularly women - back to cash-based alternatives.

• Digital payment systems depend on reliable infrastructure; failures in connectivity, system uptime, or transaction processing reduce trust and uptake, particularly among first-time users. Evidence from government payment programs shows that transaction failures and delays discourage continued use and can lead beneficiaries to revert to cash. World Bank n.d. 
• The shift toward digital payments increases reliance on internet-connected systems, meaning that individuals without reliable access or consistent service face barriers to participating in the digital economy. As transactions move online, lack of reliable infrastructure can restrict access to economic opportunities and delay adoption of digital financial services. (IAD 2025).
• Recent studies indicate that technical failures – not just user skills or social norms – drive many women back to cash. In rural India, network and system reliability problems were top barriers to UPI (Unified Payment Interface) and other digital payments. For example, a survey of 40 rural consumers in Himachal Pradesh found poor internet connectivity to be the biggest obstacle to UPI usage. The study emphasizes that addressing server failures is critical: “reducing UPI downtime and technical failures will enhance user experience,” since unreliable transactions push people away. (Aishwarya, 2025)