NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 28 – A survey released by the Central Bank of Kenya reveals that the usage traditional banking stands at 23.8 percent, a decline from 31.7 and 29.6 percent figure reported in 2016 and 2019 respectively.
The latest FinAccess survey conducted among 30,600 households further revealed that the use of mobile banking on the other end, rose significantly to 34.4 percent in 2021 from 17.5 percent and 25.3 percent rates in 2016 and 2019.
Lack of money to save was listed as the main reason for not using a bank account by 56.3 percent of the respondents.
No regular income and high cost of operating a bank account were listed by 35.3 and 23.0 percent of the respondents as other reasons for not using a bank account in the last 12 months prior to the survey
The survey further found that 47.4 per cent of Kenyans using mobile money have reportedly lost funds through fraud and erroneously sending it to the wrong recipients over the past year.
This is a sharp increase from 8.4 per cent two years ago with 71.4 percent saying they sent it to the wrong recipient who likely withdrew and refused to refund.
Overall, the survey which was conducted in collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and Financial Deepening Trust (FSD) noted that access to formal financial services providers rose to 83.7 percent in 2021 but those accessing informal providers declined further.
