Mobile banking usage increased to 34.4% in 2021 from 25.3% in 2019, as more people used technology to transact during COVID-19 period. This is according to the latest FinAccess Household Survey Report 2021, conducted and funded by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in collaboration with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSD) Kenya.
The survey found that usage of mobile banking increased across all the demographics analysed.
The use of the traditional banking (brick and mortar), however ,declined except those in the age bracket of above 55 years. Conversely, those who used physical bank branches declined from 29.6 % in 2019 to 23.8% in 2021.
The overall usage of traditional bank accounts declined from 29.6% in 2019 to 23.8% in 2021.
In terms of the usage dimension, the banking services including mobile banking increased to 44.1 percent in 2021 from 40.8 percent in 2019.
This is attributed to the increased usage of mobile banking accounts.
Use of mobile banking apps were the main channels used to access and use banking services in 2021 across all the demographics analysed. The Survey results indicate that 72.4% mobile banking users and 48.4 % of mobile money users experienced episodes of not being able transact at one point in time due to system down times and outages by providers in 12 months preceding the Survey.
