Notwithstanding the continued integration of banking and non-banking services in recent years, the banking sector remains the primary channel for mobilizing financial resources towards productive investment. In this central role, therefore, the banking sector is uniquely placed to make a significant impact on financial inclusion, by increasing outreach and by addressing both price and non-price barriers to financial access.
These barriers cut across the key service dimensions: proximity to financial access points, cost of services, and minimum requirements for accessing financial services. Against this backdrop, how then will Kenya’s banking sector deliver on deepening financial inclusion? To answer this question it is important to understand where the banking sector finds itself at this moment.