Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Trust: Legal Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs in Adopting Digital Finance in India

India’s rapid shift towards digital finance has created new opportunities for women entrepreneurs, especially at the micro and small-enterprise level. Tools such as UPI, mobile wallets, internet banking and app-based lending promise faster transactions, improved record-keeping and better access to formal finance. Yet, recent studies show that women continue to lag behind men in the active and confident use of digital financial services, and that concerns about fraud, data misuse and lack of redress strongly influence their behaviour (MicroSave Consulting, 2020; World Bank, 2022). This paper examines the legal challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in adopting digital finance in India, with a particular focus on data privacy, cybersecurity and trust. It outlines the typical ways in which women-led micro and small enterprises engage with digital finance, and then analyses the relevant legal and regulatory framework: the Information Technology Act, 2000; Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directions on digital payments, customer protection and security controls; consumer-protection mechanisms such as the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme; and selected policy initiatives on cybersecurity. Drawing on recent policy reports and empirical studies, the paper argues that although a formal protection architecture exists, its effectiveness is limited by low legal and digital literacy, socio-cultural constraints, complex grievance procedures and limited gender-sensitive design of digital-finance products. The paper concludes that strengthening legal literacy, simplifying redress mechanisms, improving privacy-by-design features and enforcing robust data-protection and security standards are essential steps to build trust and to ensure that digital finance genuinely empowers, rather than exposes, women entrepreneurs in India.