Digital Financial Literacy And Digital Payment Adoption Among Women-Owned Micro Enterprises In Southern Tamil Nadu – An Empirical View

R. RAGAVI; Dr. M. MURUGESWARI

doi:10.69980/redvet.v25i2.2522

R. RAGAVI (Reg. No: 241112406013), Full-Time Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, Sri Parasakthi College for Women (Autonomous), Courtallam – 627 802; Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627 012; Tamil Nadu, India
Dr. M. MURUGESWARI Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce; Sri Parasakthi College for Women (Autonomous), Courtallam – 627 802; Affiliated to Manomaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627 012; Tamil Nadu, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.69980/redvet.v25i2.2522

Keywords: Digital Financial Literacy, Digital Payment Adoption, Women-Owned Micro Enterprises, Financial Inclusion, Trust and Security, Southern Tamil Nadu

Abstract

In southern districts of Tamil Nadu, many women who run small shops, tailoring units and food processing enterprises have started receiving payments through UPI and QR codes, yet their comfort with these tools varies widely. This paper looks at how digital financial literacy shapes the actual use of digital payments among women-owned micro enterprises and whether such use relates to business performance. Primary data were gathered from 320 women entrepreneurs operating in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanyakumari and Tenkasi. These enterprises were contacted through District Industries Centre lists, Udyam registrations and Mahalir Thittam self-help group networks, using purposive and snowball sampling. A structured questionnaire with 25 items measured on a five-point Likert scale was administered. Reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.938) and sampling adequacy (KMO = 0.921) were found suitable for factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis extracted five underlying dimensions accounting for 66.35% variance: digital financial knowledge, perceived usefulness and business performance, ease of use and digital skill, trust, security and risk perception, and government support, training and accessibility. Multiple regression (R² = 0.626, F = 89.84, p < 0.001) showed all five dimensions positively associated with overall adoption, with digital financial knowledge emerging as the strongest predictor (β = 0.312). The study argues for Tamil-medium hands-on training, simplified app interfaces, and stronger fraud-awareness mechanisms to support inclusive digital adoption.

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