Catering fintech products to women is a savvy business strategy that can propel your company ahead of the competition.
Research by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has dug into this topic, revealing that understanding gender differences can give fintech companies an edge in tapping into the massive $31 trillion female market while also boosting financial inclusion for women.
Having leaders who recognize the importance of serving women, both socially and commercially, is crucial for fintech firms that aim to target women intentionally, according to the IFC’s research.
When top executives truly believe in financially including women, it sets the tone for the entire company. In fact, leaders who believe in the role of women customers in expanding the firm’s customer base and market share drive 58% of fintech firms to focus on women.
The study also explores the trade-off between the higher costs of acquiring female clients and the value they bring.
It turns out that even though it might cost a bit more to attract female customers compared to male ones, around 63% of fintech companies that tailor their products and services for women end up with customers who stick around longer and bring in more value over their lifetime.
Failing to identify, understand, and connect with the female market results in a $700 billion loss in revenue, according to an analysis by Oliver Wyman.
With such engagement and revenue opportunities, you would think more fintech companies would target women specifically. However, less than a third of these firms are actually tailoring their products and services for women. They’re collecting data on gender but not doing much with it to reach out to more women or make their products more appealing to them.
Women entrepreneurs in fintech are stepping up to fill this gap, creating innovative products that address the inadequacies of financial services by focusing on women’s needs.
Let’s meet 17 of those fintech apps created by women, for women.
#1 Ellevest
Ellevest was founded in 2014 by Sallie Krawcheck, a former Wall Street exec who decided to create the first fintech company by women, for women. After gathering insights on what women want from investing and getting support from big names like Venus Williams and Melinda Gates, Ellevest introduced its robo-advisor focused on leveling the investing playing field for women.
This tool considers things like salary gaps and career breaks, offering personalized investment strategies that align with women’s lives and values. They even have a portfolio option that lets you avoid investing in companies that harm the environment.
For a monthly subscription, Ellevest offers automated investing, retirement planning, workshops, and a special service for high-net-worth clients. With a leadership team composed of 84% women and 50% people of color, Ellevest significantly deviates from industry norms. The firm manages over $2 billion in assets and celebrated its success by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in March 2024. Over 3 million women are part of its network.
#2 CreditRich
Angel Rich founded CreditRich, a fintech app that uses gamified experiences to help women and people of color improve their financial literacy and credit scores.
Launched in partnership with Experian in 2021, Rich became the first Black American woman to secure an institutional collaboration with one of the three major credit bureaus. CreditRich is designed to provide an easy, low-cost way for users to round up spare change to pay their bills intelligently and enhance their credit score as fast as possible in real-time.
In 2022, Rich introduced the CreditRich Visa debit card, making it the first Black woman-owned neobank, targeting women and millennials with high student debt. The app offers features like credit report checks, spending tips, and automatic savings to bridge financial gaps exacerbated by income inequality. Rich is also the founder of Black Tech Matters, a social impact organization focused on creating diversity in STEM.
#3 Tala
Tala, founded by Shivani Siroya and launched in 2014, is all about giving the global majority a financial boost through microloans via a mobile app. By tapping into alternative data from smartphone usage, Tala can assess creditworthiness and quickly provide funds, empowering women entrepreneurs in areas with limited financial services.
Siroya developed an Android app that uses data from users’ mobile devices to instantly evaluate them and deliver customized financial services within minutes. Tala offers loans ranging from $10 to $500 to customers with little or no formal borrowing history in countries like the Philippines, Mexico, Kenya, and India. They even offer a digital wallet in the Philippines, which lets over a million customers pay bills directly through the app, saving them from cash-out fees.
By the end of 2023, Tala had provided over $4.5 billion in credit access to 9 million customers.
#4 Alinea Invest
Anam Lakhani and Eve Halimi co-founded Alinea Invest in 2020, conceiving the idea during a school project to target Gen Z women with AI-powered wealth management.
Alinea has grown into a profitable startup using content and storytelling to engage its 200,000 followers across social media. The app boasts over 500,000 new investors, 92.7% of whom are women and 70% Gen Z users.
Alinea is introducing a subscription model for $120 a year and is diving into the AI market with a new financial adviser to boost their stock recommendation system. This new feature aims to give personalized investment advice, making it even easier for young investors to get started.
#5 Cadence Cash
Co-founded by Chief Operating Officer Andrea Martin Inokon, Cadence Cash aims to close the $100 billion credit gap for women and diverse entrepreneurs.
Its virtual CFO, Angel, provides personalized insights into cash flows, invoices, and funding readiness, making it easier for small businesses to qualify for financing. The startup also offers microloans ranging from $1,000 to $150,000 and AI-driven financial literacy programs.
With over 1,300 users, 60% women, and a lending pipeline surpassing $11 million, Cadence Cash is committed to social responsibility. It is working towards B Corp certification and offering $5,000 Thrive Grants to impactful businesses.
#6 Frich
Frich is a social finance app for Gen Z women launched in 2021 by former model-turned-entrepreneur Katrin Kaurov and Aleksandra Medina to offer financial transparency and community learning. Frich allows users to see how others earn, spend, save, and invest.
Users of Frich — which stands for “Effing Rich” — can ask questions anonymously on the app to get a better understanding of how others their age are doing financially without feeling competitive. They can also anonymously share financial data to see how they compare with peers.
Frich generates revenue by connecting financial institutions, like credit unions, with young users and boasts over 65% female users.
#7 CHIP
In 2020, Dana Wilson founded CHIP (Changing How Individuals Prosper), a financial services marketplace that connects individuals and small businesses with financial professionals of color.
Since 2007, minority women-owned businesses have grown over 163%. CHIP acknowledges the importance of granting access to trustworthy financial advice and collaborates with organizations such as CommonFuture to support initiatives such as accelerator programs for women of color and small business founders.
Through this partnership, CHIP offers participants financial coaching sessions with accredited professionals from their platform, providing a safe space for meaningful financial conversations. These sessions help women craft their financial stories and make informed decisions as they grow their businesses.
CHIP generates revenue through a monthly subscription fee charged to financial professionals who can join as individuals or as part of a team.
#8 Aura
Employees spend nearly 14 hours a week—eight during working hours—dealing with their financial stress, according to the 2024 SoFi The Future of Workplace Financial Well-Being report. This lost productivity costs employers billions of dollars every year.
Kelsey Willock Jones and Courtney Cardin have created Aura, a mindful money management platform that aims to help users with financial anxiety through behavioral coaching and wealth management. Aura’s goal is to assist users in understanding and managing their relationship with money, similar to therapy for anxiety.
The platform offers memberships to corporations for their employees and has partnerships with 16 corporate partners. About 70% of the platform’s users are women.
#9 Plenty
Plenty is a wealth platform designed for couples. It was created in 2022 by Emily Luk and her husband, Channing Allen. Plenty allows couples to view shared and individual assets, track spending, and invest toward common goals.
It empowers users who feel overwhelmed by finance and encourages both partners to participate actively in financial decisions. This fintech startup offers goals-based investing, educational content, and a next-generation robo-advisor.
It charges an annual membership fee and caters to dual-income couples, with 55% of its users being female.
#10 Parlay
Parlay, founded by Alex Mcleod in 2022, helps underserved small business owners, particularly women, access affordable loans. The platform aims to assist these businesses in applying for SBA 7(a) loans by creating high-quality loan applications, thus increasing their chances of approval.
Parlay generates revenue through partnerships with community lenders like community banks, credit unions, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which offer their small business applicants a white-label version of Parlay’s software.
The platform evaluates eligibility at the application stage. It provides applicants with valuable guidance, insights, industry benchmarks, and financial ratios to help them build confidence and readiness, ultimately increasing their chances of loan approval. Parlay’s user base consists of over 40% women.
#11 Sequin
Sequin, founded by Vrinda Gupta, a former Visa employee who was denied a credit card she helped design, offers a debit card specifically designed for women to fight the patriarchy and live debt free.
The platform aims to address women’s financial challenges, such as the “Pink Tax,” higher interest debts, and banking fees. It provides up to 6% cashback on self-care purchases like beauty products and gym memberships.
Sequin generates revenue through interchange and subscription fees, focusing on eliminating the financial disparities women encounter. After participating in Y Combinator’s summer program in 2021, Sequin has raised $5.7 million—with over 90% of its angel investors identifying as women.
#12 WealthMeUp
Founded by Feli Oikonomopoulou during her MBA at the Yale School of Management, WealthMeUp is a female-first embedded fintech app integrating investing into daily routines.
Users can invest rewards earned from everyday transactions directly into their investment portfolio. The app’s mission is to make investing as routine as a daily coffee run, resonating primarily with Gen-Z and young millennials users, 70% of whom are female.
WealthMeUp plans to introduce direct investment options and generate income through partnerships funding user rewards.
#13 Knomee
Founded by Marla Sofer in May 2023, Knomee is a fintech company designed to give women confidence and control over their personal finances. Utilizing a personalized, gamified journey based on behavioral science, Knomee helps users define their goals and build strong support networks.
The platform encourages women to control their financial identity data, allowing them to connect with trusted advisors who provide tailored support aligned with their evolving needs and values. By focusing on personalized solutions rather than selling products, Knomee transforms money into a tool for self-expression and aligns financial planning with women’s aspirations.
The platform helps women articulate their financial goals and make informed decisions, with 64% of its user base being female.
#14 Zumma Financial
Zumma Financial, co-founded by Fernanda De La Colina, Marinella Piñate, and Daniela Lascurain, uses WhatsApp to automate financial tasks for women entrepreneurs, focusing on expense management.
The platform processes income and expense information for budget tracking and financial analytics. Receipts sent through WhatsApp generate fiscal invoices, which are deductible from taxes.
Zumma saves businesses time and money by streamlining financial processes and offers a community for its users, 50% women, to share experiences.
#15 Flank
Founded by CJ Tayeh in 2020, Flank addresses emotional labor with a conflict resolution tool, helping women manage disagreements effectively.
By widening access to conflict resolution, Flank addresses the issue of emotional labor, which disproportionately affects women. Often taking on roles such as peacemaker and mediator, women carry the burden of unpaid emotional labor, draining their time, energy, and money. Flank’s digital tool aims to distribute this responsibility more equitably, allowing women to focus on their needs and relieving them of this often-invisible financial challenge.
The platform is still in development, with plans to operate on a freemium subscription model, allowing users to pay for the services they use. Flank has received early-stage funding from Nationwide and Royal London.
#16 Monytri
Founded in late 2023 by Chiara Liqui Lung, Monytri is a fintech company that promotes financial literacy through gifting stocks.
Monytri targets the financial literacy gap women face, using gifting to encourage open discussions about money. With 60% of its beta sign-ups being female and 7% non-conforming to traditional gender norms, Monytri aims to break the taboo of discussing finances, becoming a gateway to investing, especially within Latin and Caribbean communities.
The company generates revenue through a fee for each gift, a subscription service for premium features, and partnerships with approved brokers.
#17 Mango
A personal AI financial coach for Gen Z students, Mango was founded by Alisha Chowdhury in 2023. It focuses on improving young women’s economic independence and literacy.
The platform collaborates with college clubs and organizations, and around 55% of its users are female.
Mango generates revenue through a dual business model: it provides custom AI financial coach solutions to financial providers and university partners for an annual licensing fee while also offering a freemium direct-to-consumer version of the Mango AI coach.
Ultimately, these fintech innovators demonstrate the potential for growth and impact by tailoring financial services to meet women’s needs.
By addressing gender-specific challenges, these startups pave the way for a more inclusive financial future for everyone.
