Kenyans Shed Multiple Bank Accounts On COVID Woes

 

By Kepha Muiruri For Citizen Digital

Kenyans have trimmed their holding of multiple bank accounts to mirror the economic strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a new survey by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) on customer satisfaction, six of every 10 Kenyans had two or three bank accounts in 2021 down from eight out of 10 a year prior.

“This is perhaps reflective of the declined economic activity and thus incomes as a result of the effects of the pandemic that triggered consolidations of funds by bank clients to reduce running costs associated with maintaining bank accounts,” KBA noted.

The number of single bank accounts increased to 25.2 per cent in 2021 from 23 per cent in 2020 while the pool of Kenyans with four to five bank accounts fell to 11.4 per cent from 12 per cent.

The number of Kenyans with more than six bank accounts however increased marginally to 1.4 per cent from a flat one per cent in 2020.

According to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) 2020 Annual Report, 39 of the licensed commercial banks had a combined 69.88 million deposit accounts and 11.42 million loan accounts as of December 2020.

In the period, the 69.88 million accounts held Ksh.4.123 trillion in deposits.

The KBA Survey covered 29,791 respondents/banking customers, half of whom are residents of the Capital Nairobi.