- Tier 2 cities outpace big cities in use of digital loans.
- Tier 2 cities have a DCII score of 58.64, while Tier 1 cities have 53.1.
- The gap between men and women in the use of digital credit is relatively small in small towns.
Digital Credit and Inclusion Index 2026: India has overtaken the world in digital payments. But now digital loan means a big change in taking loans. It is on this basis that Pahle India Foundation and Amazon Pay have jointly launched the country's first Digital Credit and Inclusion Index i.e. DCII 2026. This report looks at who is taking digital loans in India, how they are taking them and whether they are benefiting from it. The report was prepared by talking to more than 5000 people in 100 cities across 20 states. One thing is very clear from this. Our small cities i.e. Tier 2 cities are ahead of everyone in taking digital loans than big cities.
Small towns became king
According to the report Tier 2 cities have a score of 58.64. Whereas Tier 1 big cities like Mumbai, Delhi have a score of only 53.1. Tier 3 cities have 55.7. Cities like Coimbatore, Surat, Nagpur, Indore, Prayagraj, Ranchi, Ludhiana are now leading in digital credit. Not only this, women are not far behind in these small towns. Here the difference between men and women is only 2.8 points. While in big cities the same difference is 9.1 points. In a small town everyone gets equal opportunities.
A country's overall DCII score is
55.85. This means that India is now in the “Emerging and Served” category. Access means Access has the highest score of 61.24, reaching people. But the Impact score is a little low i.e. 49.16 for whether it is really beneficial.
Working women
The best thing about this report is that working women. While men scored higher across the board, salaried wives outperformed men. The score for salaried women is 62.0 and for men 60.2. That is when a woman has her own salary Digital Loans But uses better.
The difference is less according to age
Among 18- to 29-year-olds, the gap between boys and girls is just 2.9 points. Whereas in people above 60 years it is 4.6. This shows that the new generation is more equal in this regard. People are aware but trust less 94.4% people know what digital credit is. So there is no problem of awareness. The problem is trust. Public trust in digital payments is 69.7 but only 52.5 in digital lending. People still think that taking online loans is risky.
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What do people do when money is in trouble?
48.2% people use their savings. Only 6.9% people use loan app and 3.4% people use BNPL i.e. Buy Now Pay Later. This means that digital loans are still not the first choice for people in times of trouble. It has not yet reached everyone. The report says that housewives, gig workers, daily wage workers, students score 11 points lower than salaried people. Because they don't have proper income proof. So they don't get loans. Now the times have changed, people should look at their digital transactions, their cash flow and give loans. And why do people take loans? 59% people buy mobile, TV, fridge. The score for getting a loan for business or property is only 43.2. But 64% of people who always take loans use it for business. It means that once the habit is formed, people use it wisely.
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Pahle India President Rajeev Kumar said, Financial inclusion should not be measured only by how many people it reaches, but whether it actually benefits. Amazon Pay India CEO Vikas Bansal said, 75% of our customers are Tier 2 and Tier 3. This report will help us to make better products for them. And as India develops by 2047, digital credit will play a major role.