Guest Post by Anjali Banthia, Specialist, Women's World Banking, Consumer Insights and Engagement

When saving money in a bank requires long and expensive bus rides and comes with high monthly fees that can together total up to more than a customer can afford to deposit, it doesn’t make much sense to use banks to save. That’s one of the reasons why low-income customers in remote rural villages in Malawi use village-based savings groups to save their money. NGOs like CUMO Microfinance (a Malawi-based non-profit) administer these groups but it is the members who run the group which provide opportunities to save as well as borrow.

Members are delighted with the services organizations like CUMO provides, but a closer look by Women’s World Banking showed that savings groups do not always meet all of their customers’ financial needs. Members could benefit from a fuller package of financial tools to help them manage a variety of their requirements. Seeing an opportunity in this gap, Women’s World Banking conducted an in-depth research study with CUMO group members in conjunction with our partner and Malawi’s largest bank, NBS Bank in March of this year. The objective of the research was to understand group members’ unmet financial needs and how NBS Bank could complement the offering provided by CUMO.

To learn the pros and cons of local savings groups, read more here.