moms and money

How can we increase women’s engagement with everyday banking in India? This was the question that led us to on a path of discovery and a conversation with women across the length & breadth of the country. 
The conversation soon took a life of its own with women passionately articulating what  everyday banking meant to them, how they handled money management in their households, the information and resources they used when making banking decisions, their role and level of involvement in everyday banking, the benefit to them of involvement in everyday banking, and how they would re-imagine everyday banking that’s designed with women in mind, and what role this bank could play in their life and how banks should communicate with them.The topic had clearly hit a nerve with the women in India.Response rates were through the roof. Normally, we see about 20-40% of Moms in the online community participate in an activity. In this case, we had more than 70% of our panel of Indian Moms participating both in volume and in depth. It was clear from the responses that they craved having a voice on money and banking that extends beyond their own household. Even the perceived opportunity to affect change and benefit other women was embraced. 

 
MONEY = FREEDOM
The less affluent saw money as security and freedom from worry, while the more affluent, saw it as freedom of choice. Compared to their global counterparts, Indian Moms viewed money differently, taking the long view of money and finances. While moms from most western markets talked about their finances as being out of control and feeling helpless under economic forces, Indian Moms spoke of a more disciplined approach to money, spending tremendous time, planning, reviewing their household budgets regularly, actively tracking variances and performance against their plans, and saving and investing. Economic uncertainty was something they actively planned for and not something they reacted to. While moms from other markets reported saving very little,  Indian moms saw saving as the default, as the first thing to do when the pay check came in. 
 
CARRY THE BURDEN OF A LEGACY OF FINANCIAL DEPENDENCY 
Access isn’t equal. And most women we spoke to had felt the burden of it and borne the brunt of it. Women aren’t treated as an independent or equal financial entity by banks.  Financial products are too are designed primarily for men. Even qualified women had different rules for and terms of approval with most experiencing widespread discrimination.
“I and my husband earn equally and he is considered more loan worthy.  Women are still considered the dependent, even when we are not!”  
“In Indian banks, beneficiaries’ schemes for women mostly depend upon the income of the spouse or of parents. This should change.”

FINANCIAL SUCCESS IS A TEAM SPORT
Although they were in tune with their household budget performance at a granular level and in nearly real-time, they wanted their hard work and hard-won lessons to benefit other moms too. They wanted to guide others and they actively trade investment tips, strategies and advice with other women. Many said that they would be more likely to seek out and trust financial advice and guidance from another woman. 

(CLOSET) HOUSEHOLD MINSTER OF FINANCE
Indian moms are neither uneducated nor uninvolved in everyday banking. Behind the scenes, they were steering and driving household financial decisions Despite playing such an important role in financial matters of the home, most women weren't using banks as a resources for financial advice. Nor were they seeing banks as their partners in helping them achieve their life goals.

RETAIL BANKING AVERSE
As far as women were concerned, the bank experience is best avoided.  At best, it was viewed as inconvenient and at worst , as mildly hostile.
“Everyday banking in India is full of chaos. Endless lines. Lots of paper work and printers and servers down with repair issues, inefficient staff, fill up this form and that. Private or Public – banking experience is not pleasant.” 
 
These insights gave us an opportunity to ask the Indian moms to reimagine banking.And this is what emerged as their express desire,

• @Retail. A pleasant, flexible, non-judgmental, family-friendly and relatable in-bank experience; this could take the form of female relationship managers, more women staff, an special lane for women with kids in tow, having access to financial advice and experiences of / from other women, child friendly play / waiting area, timings that are friendlier and flexible.
  
• Product. Fair rules and greater access to bank products designed with women's needs in mind, The same terms and approval rules for financially-qualified women as for men; financial products designed specifically for women (“There should be loans with different terms for single women or female entrepreneurs.”), customised product bundles based on her life stage and goals.
  
• Trust. A bank's relationship that goes beyond a series of transactions and into a trusted partnership, i.e. guide her in her financial performance target setting and help her with incentives to celebrate the attainment of her goals, A social hub for gathering women, building networks and sharing resources, i.e. providing collaborative learning experiences designed by and/or for women, Educational resources to better understand options and make better decisions, i.e.financial education on products and goals and personalized product offerings based on her inputs.

Banks have a long way to go to fix the broken and superficial relationship they have with women in India, today. There is a big opportunity to lead a cultural and marketing change in how banks see, cater to and engage with women by meeting their needs in ways that are genuinely enabling, and moving the needle from mere reach to more meaningful metric – relevance.It takes more than pink cards and spa discounts to get women engaged with their banks. Its time the banks understood and responded adequately to the complex and dynamic relationship between Moms & Money. And stand to be rewarded with the attention and loyalty of at least half of the 1.35 billion population of India.​