A study of financial behaviour among lower-to-middle income urban workers

Abstract

The Capstone project aimed at analyzing why lower-middle-income urban workers in India fail to save consistently and designing an intervention tool that can solve the issue. Contrary to the popular belief, the solution is not obvious. Findings based on a survey of 100 workers in Ahmedabad show clearly that the problem is behavioral, not financial. Workers who don't save receive a similar amount of income every month compared to workers who save regularly, ₹17,339 and ₹16,786, respectively. Thus, there is no difference in money income. There is a difference in motivation, visualization, and behavior. A financial well-being tool was proposed that will be distributed through an Android-first progressive web application and WhatsApp messaging. The proposed financial well-being tool will allow workers to set goals, track expenses, get short educational lessons in Hindi and Gujarati and nudges of salary day. Instead of selling directly to workers, it is designed to run through the employer. This helps in building trust, removing the cost barrier, and making possible the time nudges to the moment workers actually have available balance. Key findings from the primary survey: • 53% of respondents never save or save rarely — the majority of the sample • 59% face financial pressure at month-end, running short or borrowing • The single most common reason for not saving: "I don't see the point of saving small amounts" (29%) • 88% own a smartphone 93% of those are on Android 64% prefer WhatsApp for reminders • 85% would prefer a financial tool in Hindi or Gujarati — English-only serves fewer than 1 in 5 This report covers the entire project arc, i.e the survey methodology, spending and income analysis, worker classification in three segments, minimum viable product (MVP) feature specification, a pilot design with success metrics, and an implementation playbook for the Har team of employer partners.