Savings in banks rise by 10 per cent

DAR ES SALAAM: THE amount of savings in the banks increased by 10.3 per cent to 7.71tri/- at the end of last year, from 6.99tri/- in 2023, mainly due to the increase in the awareness and financial literacy to the public and accessibility of banking services.

According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT)’s Annual Financial Inclusion Report 2024, the other factors that contributed to increased amount of savings in the banks are the conducive government policies and regulations that boosted the opening of new financial services access points.

During the period under review, the number of saving accounts in banks increased by 5,741,411 to 29,524,067 from the level in December 2023.

“This growth was mainly attributed to increased public awareness on the importance of savings and improved accessibility to financial services, including banking agents and branch networks in both rural and urban areas,” the BoT report said.

ALSO READ: Small savings can build Africa’s grand infrastructure

Furthermore, the Bank report shows that the number of saving accounts in SACCOS increased by 1.1 per cent to 1.89 million last year from the level in 2023 while saving deposits increased to 987bn/- from 967bn/-, due to increase in awareness and trust on the SACCOS and easy accessibility compared to banks.

Moreover, there was a remarkable increase in the usage of Community Microfinance Groups (CMGs) as indicated by the number of accounts in CMGs.

As of December, last year, the number of accounts in CMGs reached 589,260 from 482,840 in similar period 2023.

The increase is associated with improved public awareness on the importance of formalising community groups which focus in saving mobilisation and proving credit among members.