Diversity in Women's Financial Needs and Strategies

By focusing on women's financial needs and designing products and services that reflect their unique circumstances, financial firms can build stronger relationships with women and help them achieve their financial goals.

FREMONT, CA: In order for financial companies to adequately address the financial needs of women, they must acknowledge the diverse nature of the community. Research has demonstrated that women have a wide range of financial requirements, which presents a promising opportunity for financial firms to cater to these needs. Nevertheless, these companies must first acknowledge and appreciate the diversity of their customer base.

Women’s diverse financial needs in Southeast Asia

The affluent areas' digital economy has given rise to a situation where women have varied financial needs. The digital economy witnessed a growth of 20 per cent in 2022, making it worth 200 billion USD, and over the last three years, an extra 100 million individuals have been able to connect to the internet.

During the pandemic, digital banking became more accessible, which led to millions of new users including those who were previously unfamiliar with banking online. A significant number of women, around 34 per cent who use digital payments, started using digital banking for the first time between 2019 and 2022.

Financial companies should focus on creating user-friendly mobile banking experiences and offering services like online chat support to help the newly banked. Providing financial education content can also aid these customers and facilitate long-lasting relationships with them.

The surge in the digital economy has led to specific financial requirements for 23.9 million female entrepreneurs in the region. Even though they own over a third of the region's 55 million small and medium businesses, less than 21 per cent of these enterprises are adequately served by financial services. These women require better support, including access to credit, and financial companies can offer them critical solutions such as cross-border payments and cash management services.

As the region experiences economic growth, more women are occupying lucrative senior management positions, resulting in unique financial requirements for them. Wealthy individuals are open to exploring online wealth management services, providing an opening for financial companies to offer personalised online portfolio management services.

Intricacies underpinning women’s financial behaviours

There is diversity even within a specific group of people. Financial literacy varies among women of the same age group.  Financial institutions can embrace inclusively by understanding the complex factors that influence women's financial behaviours. In digital investment platforms, there are notable differences between women of different ages and income levels. By recognising and appreciating these nuances, financial providers can effectively engage with women and offer inclusive financial services.

Best Practices to Grow Women’s Financial Inclusion

To understand and address women's diverse financial needs, financial companies leverage customer insights derived from consented first-party data. By integrating first-party data with GA4 data, financial organisations create detailed profiles o customers and offer tailored financial services to similar groups. Additionally, the test-and-learn approach is used to gain insights into women’s preferences for product offers, pricing, and market materials.

To promote financial inclusion for women, it's necessary to empower them to make their own financial decisions and acknowledge their role as decision-makers.  Financial organisations can also provide inclusivity by representing women authentically in their marketing materials without being overly forceful about it.

Financial institutions play a key role in helping women develop their financial confidence and expertise, which can lead to growth. Online video is an effective way to reach and motivate women, as 38 per cent of women consider it a top source of financial information.

Financial firms have a great opportunity to meet women's diverse financial needs by adopting strategies that are tailored to their unique circumstances. Women face different financial challenges compared to men, and they require financial products and services that reflect their priorities, values, and goals.

To meet women's diverse financial needs, financial firms need to understand the various factors that influence women's financial decisions, such as life events, cultural expectations, and social norms. They also prevent the barriers that prevent them from accessing financial products and services, such as a lack of financial literacy and confidence.

Financial firms can adopt several strategies to better serve women, including improving financial education, creating more flexible financial products, offering customised advice and support, and building inclusive workplaces that support women’s financial goals.