• Tier-2 cities lead digital credit and inclusion, with an average score of 58.64, ahead of Tier-1 and Tier-3 cities
• 94.4% of respondents are aware of digital credit instruments, trust in digital borrowing trails digital payments by 17 points—even on the same app.
• Formal employment narrows the gender gap on digital inclusion: salaried women score 62.0 versus 60.2 for salaried men
MUMBAI: Pahlé India Foundation, in collaboration with Amazon Pay, launched the Digital Credit & Inclusion Index (DCII) 2026—India’s first composite benchmark providing a comprehensive view of the country’s digital credit journey. Based on a primary survey of more than 5,000 respondents across 100 cities in 20 states, the DCII addresses a critical gap in India’s financial inclusion landscape by examining who accesses digital credit, how easily and frequently they use it, why they borrow, whether they trust it, and whether its use contributes to stronger financial outcomes, going beyond existing benchmarks that largely track payment adoption or aggregate loan volumes.
In its inaugural edition, India achieves a national DCII score of 55.85 out of 100, placing the country in the "Emerging and Served" category (51–75). The score reflects a maturing ecosystem where payment infrastructure and digital loan awareness are well established. Access is the strongest pillar at 61.24, followed closely by Adoption at 57.17. Impact which is the measure of whether digital credit is making households more financially secure lags at 49.16. This shows that India has made significant progress in expanding access to digital credit. The next opportunity is to deepen trust and adoption, help consumers borrow more purposefully, build confidence in digital credit on par with digital payments, and translate access into measurable financial resilience and savings outcome.
Rajiv Kumar, Chairman, Pahle India Foundation, “Financial inclusion must be measured by outcomes, not just access and usage. The DCII tracks this, whether digital credit is strengthening financial resilience across cities, genders and income groups. Developed with Amazon Pay and tracked annually, we hope the index helps policymakers and financial institutions identify gaps and direct efforts where they matter most.”
Vikas Bansal, CEO, Amazon Pay India, “India’s world-class digital payment infrastructure has transformed how millions transact. The next step is to make digital credit equally accessible, trusted and relevant. The finding that Tier-2 cities lead digital credit inclusion signals where the next wave of growth could emerge. With 75% of our customers based in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, insights from the DCII will help us build more relevant credit and savings experiences in these markets while addressing untapped opportunities in Tier-1 cities. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2047, the DCII will help track how digital credit translates into real financial progress.”
KEY FINDINGS
Tier-2 borrowers are driving India’s digital credit story
The DCII reveals a shift in the geography of digital borrowing. Tier-2 cities lead digital credit inclusion across age, gender, income, occupation and education, with an average score of 58.64, compared with 53.1 for Tier-1 and 55.7 for Tier-3 cities. This marks an important distinction between India’s digital payment and credit journeys. While Tier-1 cities continue to lead in digital payments, Tier-2 cities are emerging a s the strongest centres of digital credit adoption. Coimbatore, Surat, Nagpur, Indore, Prayagraj, Ranchi, Ghaziabad and Ludhiana are among the cities driving this growth. Tier-2 cities also show the narrowest gender gap in digital credit inclusion—2.8 points, compared with 9.1 points in Tier-1 cities—suggesting that stronger adoption is also accompanied by more balanced participation.
Economic opportunity is narrowing India’s digital credit gender gap
Economic agency is a powerful enabler of women’s financial inclusion. While men score higher than women overall on digital credit inclusion, the gap reverses among salaried respondents. Salaried women record a DCII score of 62.0, compared with 60.2 for salaried men. The trend is also narrowing across generations. The gender gap narrows to 2.9 points among respondents aged 18–29, compared with 4.6 points among those aged 60 and above. The findings suggest that equal economic access, particularly through formal salaried employment, can help close—and even reverse—the gender gap in digital credit inclusion.
India knows about digital credit. The next challenge is trust and impact.
Awareness is no longer the primary barrier: 94.4% of respondents know of at least one form of digital credit. Trust, however, remains a challenge. Confidence in digital borrowing stands at 52.5, compared with 69.7 for digital payments—a 17-point gap that underscores the need to bring greater trust, transparency and simplicity to the borrowing experience. Digital credit also plays a limited role during financial stress. When respondents last faced a cash shortfall, 48.2% turned to savings, while only 6.9% used a digital loan app and 3.4% used Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Digital credit may be increasingly available, but it has yet to become a meaningful financial cushion.
Digital participation is growing, but credit visibility remains uneven
The benefits of this momentum are uneven. The DCII highlights a persistent structural challenge: being digitally active does not necessarily make someone visible to the formal credit system. Homemakers, gig workers, daily-wage earners, students and others outside of formal salaried employment scores around 11 points lower than salaried and business respondents on digital credit inclusion. Closely linked to income and occupation, this divide highlights the need to complement traditional income documentation with digital transaction histories and cash-flow-based assessments, particularly for self-employed, gig and other irregular-income workers.
From consumption to productive use
Digital credit is largely used for consumption, with 59% of respondents using it to purchase electronics and home appliances. Productive use of digital credit such as investing in a business, building assets, or supporting financial planning—remains relatively low, with a score of 43.2. However, it rises significantly among frequent users with 64% reporting using digital credit productively. This suggests that as people become more familiar with digital credit, they are more likely to use it for longer-term financial goals. The next goal is not simply acquiring new users—it is deepening the habits of existing ones.
The DCII signals a new phase in India's digital financial journey. With access and rails established, the opportunity now is to make credit more trusted, purposeful and inclusive, and translate adoption into stronger financial outcomes. The report sets priorities for government, regulators, financial institutions, fintechs and researchers: measure digital credit inclusion consistently; use consent-based data for alternative underwriting; design for irregular incomes; strengthen transparency and responsible borrowing; deepen Tier-2/Tier-3 participation; and strengthen the credit-savings link while tracking whether access improves resilience.
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