Several commercial banks in the country announced an upward price adjustments of their services effective January 1 this year, to which the Consumers Association of Association of Malawi (Cama) has said is further discouragement for people to register for bank accounts.

Speaking to The Nation newspaper, Cama executive director John Kapito said bank charges have turned away a number of people from banking. “The ever-rising bank charges by our commercial banks are the reason behind the high rates of financial exclusion” said Kapito.

Meanwhile, figures from a recent survey by FinScope Malawi has shown that 67 percent of adults are unbanked largely due to prohibitive bank charges.