StanChart account most costly to run, Co-op cheapest: Study - Capital Business
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StanChart account most costly to run, Co-op cheapest: Study

Co-operative Bank current account has the lowest maintenance annual charges among the 11 banks surveyed/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 1 – A study on the cost of running a bank account has revealed that Standard Chartered Bank has the highest maintenance cost with Co-operative Bank charging the least to operate an ordinary account.

The report by FSD Kenya shows Standard Chartered ordinary account transfer, withdrawal and maintenance costs are over Sh13,000 per year compared to Co-op bank’s Sh3,600.

The study has found that there is significant confusion even among bank staff over the cost of different banking products and services especially transactions such as bank to mobile transfers, playbill functions and cost of salary processing fees.

The average cost of operating a bank account among the 11 top banks sampled stands at Sh6,436.

The figures were arrived after a study conducted by FSD Kenya that assumed a customer will withdraw twice per month, transfer money once a month and pays for basic account maintenance like ledge fees, mini-statements, card replacements.

FSD Kenya Director Davide Ferrand says the 2016 survey provided the first ten-year perspective on Kenya’s financial landscape.

“The proportion of the population excluded from any form of financial service has dropped from over 40 percent of the adult population to about 17 percent between 2006 and 2016,” says Ferrand.

Meanwhile, Mobile Financial Services have emerged as the most popular source of credit.

SACCO loans came a close second as an option of getting credit followed by personal bank loans.

The 2016 FinAccess Household Survey shows a majority of Kenyans are taking credit for day to day needs, education and business purpose, with a significant proportion also borrowing from family and friends.

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The mobile financial services included in the survey include KCB M-Pesa, MCo-op Cash and MShwari.

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