Assessing Financial Service Utilization And Economic Challenges Among Working Professionals In Chennai

The paper explores the financial inclusion challenges, as well as the use of financial services amongst the working professionals in the city of Chennai,
a group that is less represented in the present debate on financial inclusion. Even as the number of bank accounts becomes widespread and the use of online
infrastructure prevails, this cohort still faces persistent barriers to both accessing organized savings and formal lending, as well as planning finances. The primary
data of the research was based on a purposive sample of one hundred respondents of different employment sectors and was collected by using a standardized
questionnaire. Analytical techniques to determine the relationships between the demographics, digital literacy, and financial behavior were the exploratory factor
analysis, the logistic regressions, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and the chi-square specification. The findings indicate that as the procedural complexity and a lack
of advisory support hinder the deeper involvement, digital competency and educational level influence credit access and investment activities in a substantial
manner. Moreover, stress related to the debt and the burden of living expenses has been prevalent among professionals of mid- and high-income levels as well.
Micro-advising, tailored online applications, and personalized financial products are all proposed by the research. This underutilized area demonstrates immensity,
and the study sheds light on the underutilized area and contributes to frameworks of urban finance and integration as well as presents useful information that
employers, financial service providers, and governments can utilize to make the urban financial ecosystems in India more just and efficient.
Keyword: Financial inclusion, working professionals, digital literacy, urban finance, credit access, economic stress