The above table provides an overview of the number of deposit accounts held by deposit-taking finan- cial institutions in selected African countries. The data reveals that particularly savings banks (postal financial services) and microfinance institutions in Subsaharan Africa add significantly to the supply of banking accounts by conventional banks. In addition as Koigi, Kihwele and Wright, noted (): “The sheer numbers of clients by the post banks strongly suggests that they are providing financial services to a significant proportion of the vulnerable non-poor, the poor and the poorest”. Critics of postal savings banks recognise that their products are affordable to the.
