According to Craig Newborn, CEO at PayJustNow, women have the greatest influence over consumer spending and increasingly make economic decisions for their families. "Seventy to eighty percent of all consumer spending is by women, who reinvest up to 90% of their income in their families and communities. This makes them the largest and most important buying group globally. Fintech providers are waking up to female purchasing power with a new wave of innovation designed to support women."

Global female spending power is estimated at $31.8-trillion this year, and this is only set to grow. In fact, women are predicted to control 75% of global discretionary spending in the next five years.

However, as consumer specialist Bridget Brennan notes in her book Why She Buys, many women have two jobs: one inside the home, and the other outside. This has led to 'time compression', leaving many women with less time to shop. And as the available time for shopping goes down, expectations for service and convenience goes up.

"Women have primary caregiving responsibilities and often buy on behalf of their family and dependents," says Newborn. " Every time a retailer delivers a positive customer experience to a woman, it has a multiplier effect due to the broad range of other potential customers she represents. Generally women's purchasing decisions carry more weight than men's, driving the need for greater innovation by fintech players to meet the needs of women."

According to PayJustNow data, women make up almost 70% of the BNPL platform's customer base. The average female customer has made ten Buy Now Pay Later transactions since joining, with purchases at big brand department stores, fashion and footwear retailers, homeware and beauty stores topping the list. In total, women have saved more than R100-million in interest and fees* over the past five years by using PayJustNow. According to the company's latest interim results statement, women have spent more than R1-billion on the platform in the first six months of 2024.

PayJustNow is the leading Buy Now Pay Later service provider in South Africa, loved by more than 1.8-million South Africans and growing its customer base by 100 000 per month. Eight in ten PayJustNow users are repeat customers, and the platform has a default rate of under 2% as its sophisticated scoring system ensures no customer makes purchases via the platform that they cannot afford.

Newborn says it's about more than simply splitting payments into three instalments to improve access and affordability. "Women log in to our platform to receive deals tailored to their individual shopping habits, while 'search and discover' functionality allows them to enter any search term into the store directory and access lists of relevant and verified retailers offering specific products or brands on their shopping lists. This adds greater convenience, personalisation and choice to the shopping experience."

He notes the example of a plus-sized woman who needs a custom-made bra to aid with her back pain. Due to family and work responsibilities, this woman rarely has the opportunity to go searching for a retailer that sells what she needs. By the time she's paid groceries, schooling for her kids, and covered expenses around the home, there's little time or budget left to meet her own needs.

"This is where fintech innovators can enforce change and empower women to not only buy what they need, but to be who they want to be," says Newborn. "Women are ultimately driving innovation in the fintech industry, and it's up to providers to keep up and deliver what women need."