Ideas & Updates

Unlocking digital inclusion for women in Jordan

For many in Jordan, access to a simple bank account and the digital services that come with it can mean security, opportunity, and dignity. The country has made notable progress, with adult account ownership rising from 33 percent in 2017 to 46 percent in 2024 . Yet important gaps remain. Only 36 percent of women have an account compared to 56 percent of men, and underserved groups such as youth, small businesses, and refugees continue to face significant barriers, including high costs and limited digital skills. Their stories reveal the human impact of financial exclusion and the urgent need to close these gaps.

Women entrepreneurs’ voices from Zarqa and Ajloun, navigating the challenges of financial inclusion

In Zarqa, an industrial city about 30 km northeast of Amman, we met Bodour A., a Syrian refugee and small business owner. Since 2017, she has run a home-based kitchen, preparing traditional Arabic pastries and sweets for neighbors and loyal customers. She is barred from opening a bank account and is unfamiliar with digital tools, so she operates entirely in cash.

“As a Syrian refugee here, I cannot open a bank account. I don’t really know how to use apps, so I work in cash. People often ask to pay by mobile or card, and I have to say no. I know that if I had access to digital payments, I could reach more clients, get paid faster, and manage my business better.” Despite being key contributors to their communities, women and other underserved groups remain locked out of formal systems because of structural barriers.

Bodour A. – Syrian refugee and pastry cook in Zarqa

Further north, in Ajloun, a mountainous governorate known for its forests and farming villages, Shatha H. runs a beauty salon from her home. Unlike Bodour, Shatha has both a bank account and a mobile wallet. In practice, however, she remains heavily reliant on cash, facing isolation from financial services that brings additional costs and burdens. “I have a bank account and a mobile wallet, but there aren’t any agents in my village. To cash out, I must go to another town and spend about four Jordanian Dinars on transport and fees, roughly five percent of my profit. It really eats into my earnings. If services were closer and more local shops took digital payments, I could cut costs and put more back into my business.” Her experience highlights that financial inclusion goes beyond opening an account; it requires everyday, practical services.

Shatha H. – Home-based beauty salon owner in Ajloun

Scaling up digital finance for women and youth entrepreneurs

During a field visit in August 2025 to the governorates of Zarqa and Ajloun, a joint team from the Better Than Cash Alliance and the GIZ implemented I-FIN project met with women entrepreneurs, including Bodour and Shatha, to hear their stories firsthand and better understand the challenges they face.

Their experiences echo those of many Jordanian women business owners: high transaction costs, limited access to nearby services, low digital literacy, and, for refugees, restrictive regulations. Closing these gaps requires an ecosystem that meets day-to-day business needs, is affordable to use, and provides targeted support for the most excluded.

Building on Jordan’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2023 to 2028, which targets 65 percent adult financial inclusion by 2028, the ultimate goal is to promote equitable access and usage of Digital financial services, particularly Responsible Digital Payments in Jordan.

With women, youth, and vulnerable groups at the center of this effort, it is urgent to scale responsible digital payments where they are most needed. By growing solutions that work and by listening to entrepreneurs like Bodour and Shatha, Jordan can build trust, empower people, and ensure that digital finance drives equality and sustainable growth, leaving no one behind.