NAIROBI: Kenyans accessing financial services increased by 14 per cent between 2013 and 2015, helped by a high penetration of mobile money and bank agents, a new survey shows. The 2015 Fin Access Geospatial Mapping survey released yesterday shows the financial access points per 100,000 people reached 218 in 2015 compared to 162 in 2013.
“The percentage of the population living within a three-kilometre radius of a financial services access touch point is 73 per cent in 2015 compared to 59 per cent in 2013,” states the survey.
The survey conducted from March to August shows mobile money agents increased by 37.89 per cent from 49,417 in 2013 to 68,141 in 2014. Bank agents increased by 66 per cent from 8,083 to 13,428.
It was done by Brand Fusion and analysed by the Spatial Development team, under the supervision of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation team and the Fin Access management.
Brand Fusion special projects manager Garth Lawless said the survey aimed at providing an in-depth knowledge of geographical aspects of financial access in the country.
“The data can help support product development and innovation, identify underserved potential markets and guide evidence based policy decisions that bridge indentified gaps in the supply and demand for financial services,” he said during the launch in Nairobi.
According to the survey, stand alone ATMs increased by24 per cent from 503 in 2013 to 624 in 2015, while insurance service providers increased by 15 per cent from 878 to 1,014. Over the same period, savings and credit cooperatives increased from 706 to 744, while microfinance institutions and banks reduced from 500 to 467.
The survey shows Nairobi and Mombasa Counties had the highest percentage of Kenyans within three-kilometres of a financial service provider at 100 per cent from 2013 to 2015, while in Kisumu, the Kenyans within three-kilometres of a financial touch point reduced from 85 per cent in 2013 to 68 per cent in 2015.
Financial access was lowest in Wajir County with the percentage of Kenyans within three-kilometres of a financial service provider having changed from 17 to 21 in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
