43 pc working women opted for 'Buy Now, Pay Later', says IndiaLends #WorkingStree report

The last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic changed women’s financial behaviour. The huge global disruption has given a boost to women’s entrepreneurial streak and encouraged them to take greater financial responsibility.

In this journey, a staggering 43 percent of working women have purchased products under Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) scheme, indicating its quintessential role in making women credit savvy. A whopping 80 percent of working women are aware of their credit score, highlighting greater credit awareness among both metro and non-metro women.

These were some of the significant findings of the third edition of #WorkingStree, a study conducted by IndiaLends on working women in the run-up to International Women’s Day. IndiaLends is an online marketplace for credit products.

The study — conducted among 5000-odd working women in the age group of 18-60 (Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z) residing in Tier I and II cities — provided a broad overview of their financial behaviour on spending, saving, investing, and their outlook on credit.

Additionally, the survey inferred that personal and professional development is a key motivator for most working women (52 percent), followed by financial independence (46 percent), and economic well-being (18 percent).

In terms of personal loans and ticket size, an astonishing 41 percent of working women have availed of loans under Rs 1 lakh, while nearly 24 percent opted for a loan between Rs 1 and 5 lakh.

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A gigantic 77.2 percent of working women said they are contributing to household income, which indicates more Indian families are embracing the fact that women are capable of leading the family.

Interestingly, nearly 50 percent of working women are independently making financial decisions, taking charge of their finances.

The report also highlights that nearly 39 percent of working women have at least one credit card — a number resonating with women having a good credit score.

Moreover, about 23 percent have two or more credit cards for different purposes – online shopping, travel bookings, fuel purchase, etc., which indicates the increasing credit awareness among women. It has resulted in increased usage of different credit cards based on their benefits, and the BNPL scheme has proven to be a starting step for working women to build their credit scores.

In a press statement, Gaurav Chopra, Founder and CEO, IndiaLends, said, “The #WorkingStree 3.0 survey of working women across India resonates with this year’s theme for International Women’s Day – ‘BreakTheBias’. From fighting stereotypes to taking care of their loved ones, women today are also taking equal partake in the financial world. The growing credit awareness among women, triggered by the recent BNPL phenomenon will bring more women under the credit gamut and give a rapid boost to India’s consumption demand.”

The report also indicates that post the lockdown, nearly 63 percent of working women spend between 0-25 percent of their income on lifestyle needs, while 26 percent spend between 26-50 percent of their income, indicating women are becoming cautious about spending on lifestyle needs.