Kenya’s Cabinet has approved a proposal by saccos to integrate into the national payment system (NPS) in a move aimed at reducing over-reliance on bank loans and taking over financial products and services currently offered by banks such as cheque books, foreign currency trading, Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs).
“In a bid to enhance the stability, efficiency and competitiveness of Kenya’s Savings and Credit Co-operatives (Saccos), the Cabinet has approved amendments to the Sacco Societies Act, 2008. The proposed reforms, outlined in the Sacco Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2023—now before parliament —aim to modernise financial and technological operations, particularly benefitting smaller saccos,” the Cabinet said in memo dated March 11.
