During the close of the Credit Awareness Week organized by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), the  Malawi Microfinance Network (MFN) has advised Malawians to take advantage of the formal credit opportunities whenever they want to access loans.

MFN executive director Duncan Phulusa called on people interested in accessing loans to read and understand all the terms and conditions which most of the times come in small prints before appending their signatures on loan agreement documents.

He advised the above, noting that many people rush through the process before understanding issues such as processing fees and administration charges. On the other hand, he advised that interested parties must research and compare charges of different financial institutions, including interest rates.

During the week, it was revealed that only 3% of Malawians access credit the formal financial sector, therefore the remaining 97% uses informal credit. A panel discussion in which RBM Governor Dalitso Kabambe was part of, saw the panelists urging commercial banks in the country to listen to customers and create accommodative products and services, to penetrate the missing 97%. “Banks need to be customer-centric” said Kabambe “they need to work out and establish the needs of the various segments of the population. Yes, they are serving conglomerates but they should also understand households” said Kabambe.