December, 03, 2024, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics alongside its partners, Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) launched the 7th Finaccess Household Survey, 2024.
The survey is an annual report that measures the financial needs of Kenyans and their use of financial services and products. The Finaccess Household Survey also seeks to establish key areas of improvement to meet people’s needs. The 2024 report revealed some interesting patterns, some touching on housing and property ownership.
Where are Kenyans saving their money?
60% of Kenyans are using banks to save their money in 2024, a slight 2% increase from the previous year. Banks (both traditional and mobile) are the most popular saving and money depositing platforms in 2024, according to the survey.
Mobile money is the second most popular instrument for depositing and saving money. As of 2024, 35.9% of Kenyans were using mobile money services to save their cash. The percentage of adults using mobile money to save their earnings also increased slightly by 3% from the previous year.
Perhaps this is directly related to the high mobile phone penetration rate in Kenya. As of 2025, there were more than 68 million mobile devices connected to mobile networks.
Group Savings
Chamas or group savings, a traditional saving tool that has morphed and evolved over time, was the third most popular saving instrument. 19.7% of Kenyans were using this kind platform to save their money. The percentage of Chama savers however reduced slightly by 2% from the previous year’s numbers.
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There is also a significantly big number of Kenyans (16.2%) using a “secret place” to save their money. Just as the word suggests, this could be anywhere, that a respondent is not willing to disclose.
Most probably a “secret plade” is not in a conventional bank or modern saving platform. The report also shows that the number of people using secret places to save dropped significantly in 2024, from the previous year by -12%.
While 76% of rural adults are saving or using at least one deposit instrument, only 62% of adults living in urban areas are saving in 2024.
Reasons for saving
“Meeting day to day expenses” was the most common reason for saving among Kenyan adults. 36% of savers selected this option as their primary purpose for saving. Emergencies such as burials and medical bills were the second most common reason for saving at 28%, followed by saving for old age (13%).
Education (for self, children or siblings) accounted for 10% while (8%) of adults saved to expand businesses or buying equipment. 4% of adults were saving to buy land and similarly, 4% were saving to either buy a home or improve an existing one. Lastly, personal reasons, such as travel, buying new clothes or shoes took up 4% .
18%
Only 18% of Kenyan adults were financially healthy in 2024. This is a major drop from 39% of financially healthy adults in 2016″
– Finaccess Household Survey, 2024
The percentage of adults saving to buy land, has remained unpredictable through the years. In 2021, no numbers were recorded under this category or reasons for saving, while in 2016, only 3% of adults were saving to buy land. The highest numbers for this category were recorded in 2019 when 5% of adults were saving for land.
Meanwhile, only 3% of adults channeled money into investment schemes, while 19% spend on NHIF, pension schemes (12%) and NSSF (11%). Expenditure toward insurance accounted for 7%, making investment schemes one of the least important needs for Kenyans surveyed.
Financial Health Among Kenyans
The survey revealed a significant decline in financial health compared to previous years. Only 18% of adults surveyed were financially healthy in 2024, a big drop from 39% in 2016.
More male adults were financially healthy at 22% compared to 15% of female adults who were financially healthy in 2024. Employed people were the healthiest, financially at 45%, followed by business owners at 26%.
Those who depend on agriculture as their source of livelihood made up 16% of financially healthy adults. 12% of financially healthy Kenyans were dependent adults and lastly, casual workers came in last accounting for 9%.
People within the 26-35 age group made up the biggest number of financially healthy adults, followed by 36-45 year olds (19%). Although rural adults saved more than urban adults, as seen above, urban populations were healthier at 26% while only 13% of financially healthy adults were from rural areas.
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