Abstract:
As digital technology plays a crucial role in every sector of the economy, access to and use of
digital finance is also significant to every individual in society to empower themselves, especially
among marginalised individuals. Gen X women, especially mothers, provide a significant
contribution to their families, facilitating their children, husbands, and those who live with
them. Therefore, enhancing their economic empowerment through improved access to and use
of quality digital financial services is crucial. To achieve this, it is equally important to identify
and address the barriers that limit their access to and effective use of these services. Accordingly,
this study aims to identify barriers faced by Gen X women in accessing and using quality
digital financial services via a phenomenological research design. For this purpose, data were
collected from purposively selected 10 Gen X women (mothers) in Colombo district, covering
different occupations (i.e., government or private sector) who have a digital account and a credit
card but do not use them for various reasons, using in-depth interviews to gain insights from
personal experiences utilising a semi-structured questionnaire. Analysis was conducted using
voice recordings obtained with the consent of the participants, which were then transcribed into
scripts. A thematic analysis that created categories and themes from the narratives and results
revealed that dependence on family for digital financial tasks, fear and anxiety, distrust, lower
digital literacy and confidence, infrastructure issues, cultural habits, and barriers to learning
digital platforms discourage the use of and access to digital financial services. These findings
help policymakers design strategies to improve Gen X women’s access to digital financial services,
boost participation, and reduce barriers. Future research could examine other age groups
or broader populations to validate and extend these insights.
