Hyderabad: The rapid transition to a cashless economy through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is transforming everyday commerce, but a study by Hyderabad-based NGO Yugantar has found that technical glitches, patriarchal household dynamics and fear of digital fraud continue to prevent low-income women from gaining equal access to digital financial services.

The study, which evaluated the ‘Digital Budget Rani’ initiative supported by other foundations, found that hands-on training significantly improved women’s adoption of UPI. More than 40,000 women across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were trained, with active UPI usage among participants rising from about 19 per cent to nearly 56 per cent after training.

However, researchers Zoe Kennedy-Hughes, Sivani Kasinathuni and Navika Harshe found the transition to digital finance was far from seamless for women from vulnerable and low-income communities. Despite government efforts to expand digital payment access through voice-based systems such as 123PAY IVR, more than 95 per cent of successful onboardings occurred among younger, literate women who owned smartphones.

Feature phone users, including street sweepers and domestic workers, faced severe technical bottlenecks. In some cases, phone software limitations prevented users from entering verification codes while on live calls, making onboarding difficult or impossible.

Technology was not the only barrier. Social and household norms played a major role in determining whether women could access and independently use digital financial services. “Why do I need to learn UPI? My husband and sons take care of all this,” was a common sentiment recorded during field surveys. Among women who declined training, 58 per cent cited objections from family members. Male relatives often controlled transaction PINs or restricted access to payment apps, citing family security.

For some women, avoiding UPI was a deliberate choice aimed at protecting financial independence. Concerns about relatives making unauthorised transactions or losing money through digital fraud led many to prefer cash or use UPI only to check balances.

The study noted three distinct patterns. The first group consisted of younger, literate, smartphone-owning women who were better placed to understand digital payment processes and had greater access to technology. The second group comprised non-users who faced structural and social barriers, including low literacy, limited access to technology and weak banking integration. The third group consisted of women who consciously rejected UPI because of distrust in digital systems and concerns over losing financial control within their households.

Experiences in Hyderabad illustrated these findings. Domestic worker R. Prasanna said she shifted to UPI to retain control over her earnings after her husband took her money. “I want to save money to pay my children’s school fees or buy household items. If the money is in my bank account, I can take it when I need it,” she said.

Safai Karamchari workers said many women were gradually learning UPI. Domestic workers Lakshmiamma and Sharada, however, said they attempted to use UPI through friends’ phones but could not understand the process and eventually stopped. Having migrated to the city only a year ago, they preferred cash wages, saving nearly ₹20,000 a month depending on work availability. When employers lacked cash, they sometimes used friends’ UPI accounts to collect payments.

The researchers argued that digital financial inclusion programmes must move beyond one-time training and provide continued support, particularly for women from low-income households, informal workers, migrants and those with limited literacy.

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