Visa has released a new white paper exploring how privacy and security perceptions shape the way women entrepreneurs engage with digital financial services (DFS).
The report, titled Privacy and Security for Women-Led SMBs in Digital Financial Services, was developed under the Digital Finance for All initiative Digital Finance for All — a Visa-funded partnership with the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation.
Grounded in primary research conducted in Kenya, one of the world’s most advanced mobile money ecosystems, the study also draws on Visa’s broader Consumer Empowerment research across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA).
The white paper underscores a key insight: privacy and security are not just technical safeguards, but central trust drivers influencing whether women-led small and micro businesses (SMBs) move beyond basic services like person-to-person transfers into more advanced tools such as savings, credit, and business management services.
Key findings from the research include:
- Perceptions shape adoption: Only 11% of consumers fully understand how their data is used, while 85% report concerns about unauthorised access, reinforcing caution and limiting deeper DFS use.
- Transparency drives loyalty: More than 79% of consumers say transparent communication about data use is a decisive factor in continuing to share digital data
- A persistent perception and expectation gap limits value: Many women led SMBs expect DFS to be safe, transparent, and user friendly, but still perceive products as risky or opaque, leading them to restrict usage and reducing the benefits that DFS can unlock for business growth
- Privacy and security are ecosystem wide. The report underscores the shared responsibility of providers, fintechs, banks, regulators, and consumer organisations in improving protections, communications, and recourse mechanisms
Speaking on the launch, Michael Berner, Senior Vice-President for Southern & Eastern Africa at Visa, emphasised the importance of transparency and user-centred design in expanding digital financial inclusion.
“Trust is foundational to the digital economy. Through the Digital Finance for All partnership with GSMA, we are supporting evidence-based, practical guidance that helps providers build transparent, user-centred experiences. This white paper offers a clear action framework to improve privacy, security, and recourse so more women-led SMBs can engage confidently with digital finance.”
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