Banks that have a branch in Mandera town include KCB, whose branch was opened in 1986, followed by Equity Bank in 2009 and National Bank of Kenya in 2015.
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mandera chapter has petitioned major banks in the country to open more branches in the far-flung county to serve residents who are suffering from lack of formal financial inclusion.
Mr Abdirahim Isaack, Chairman KNCCI Mandera County, said the business community in the region has been losing opportunities due to limited banking services.
“Almost 90 percent of our population in business is keeping money at home because they cannot easily access banks which are only found in Mandera town. We need banks in the other four major towns,” he said.
“People can only understand the importance of saving money in banks when the services are brought close to them and civic education provided.”
He said locals have been forced to travel from far to Mandera town in order to return the Sh1,000 notes before the September 30 demonetisation deadline.
Towns that lack banks include Takaba, Banisa, Rhamu and Lafey.
“People have been forced to come from areas that are as far as 400 kilometres just to return the notes because there are no banks in towns near them,” he said.
Banks that have a branch in Mandera town include KCB #ticker:KCB, whose branch was opened in 1986, followed by Equity Bank #ticker:EQTY in 2009 and National Bank of Kenya in 2015 #ticker:NBK.
Equity Bank has a branch in Elwak town, which the chamber fears cannot sustain heavy business transactions.
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