Despite the rise of mobile wallets and digital solutions, many women in Asia are still facing barriers to being financially included. Speakers at the Money2020 Asia shares the challenges and opportunities.

While consumers have many choices of e-wallets today, many women in the region still do not have access to financial facilities due to cultural factors and educational levels. One key barrier to accessing financial resources is the lack of identity documents, said Mary Ellen Iskenderian, chief executive of Woman's World Banking.

«Women usually do not have the traditional documentation, that makes it harder for them to be financially included,» she said. For example, a woman in Pakistan is unable to even apply for a telephone card to access a smartphone, because she had been excluded from having an identity document at birth.

Some Progress

However, there are bright spots. Countries in the region are now looking at how India is implementing its electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) to kickstart financial inclusion for its citizens so that they can implement their own. 

The next barrier is education level. «Basic literacy, the basic understanding of devices...that is still the issue,» said Iskenderian.

Growth and Investment Returns

Fintech or financial firms looking to tap growth in the region should have «gender lenses», said Taimur Baig, Chief Economist at DBS Group, who was also speaking on the panel. By that, he means that they should design solutions that serve women.

Bottom-up data shows that women tend to be better risk-takers, save money, and put surplus income into health and education for their family, which lifts overall standards of living, he noted.

«A financial strategy aimed at women, tend to give a better return on capital, (and) tend to make your investments less risky,» said Baig.