Experts warn that the finance bill for 2024 could bring back all the gains made since the 2000s in the banking sector. According to Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, Matress banking may return when people abandon mobile transactions for cash.
The hefty charges on bank and mobile transactions may cause people to abandon them and return to cash-to-cash transfers, which could lead to a decline in the growth of financial institutions.
NCBA Bank CEO John Gachora has strongly criticised the proposed taxes in the Financial Bill 2024.
He specifically targeted the administration’s plan to impose new transaction charges, labelling them as ‘unnecessary taxation’ and condemning the ‘introduction of both Tobin Tax and Robinhood Tax by removing VAT exemptions for banking transactions’.
Gachora has expressed concern that the bill could devastate the banking industry, potentially leading many to revert to “mattress banking.”
He argues that the bill would make basic banking services more expensive, increase the cost of credit, and push people towards the black market.