Andrew
Kenya’s financial services inclusion rate rose to 83,7 percent of the adult population in 2021, up from 82,9 percent in 2019, according to a joint report released on Wednesday.
The growth rate was much slower than the surge of 33,7 percentage points seen in 2013-2009, said the FinAccess (Financial Access) Household Survey 2021, released by the Central Bank of Kenya, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya.
The report said the slowdown may be caused by a drop in the pace of mobile money uptake.
“Mobile money and mobile banking usage are driving financial inclusion,” it said.
The survey is the sixth in a series of reports that track developments in financial inclusion in terms of changing consumer behavior, technological innovations, policy changes and demographic dynamics in the country.
The study shows that 11,6 percent of the adult population is excluded while 4,7 percent use informal financial services as of 2021.
According to the report, traditional banking usage continues to decline since 2016 as more people embrace mobile banking across all demographics. – Xinhua
Online Reporter