Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has bemoaned rural people’s lack of lack knowledge on saving due to irrelevance of services which banks in Malawi offer.

Reserve Bank of Malawi official, Charles Thombozi said the central bank conducted a research to enhance the bank’s Financial Literacy Program which started in 2010.

The research revealed that people in rural areas have problems in accessing some of the services offered by the banks because they are expensive.

“People need to learn that saving money is very important in as far as the economy is concerned but there is a problem since people in rural areas such as Ntchisi do not have the culture of saving money in the banks because most of them fear the expenses that banks in the country offer,” said Thombozi.

He was speaking in Ntchisi during a meeting with area development committees which was organized with an aim of educating people on the importance of saving.

Ntchisi is one the areas with the lowest rates of financial literacy in Malawi.

RBM has since urged commercial banks in the country to diversify to ways and services that would be easily accessed and appealing to people in rural areas.