Family Bank has strengthened its presence at the Coast region with the official opening of a new branch in Kilifi County, marking its 96th outlet nationwide.

The expansion comes as part of the lender’s broader growth strategy aimed at tapping into the region’s rising demand for inclusive and accessible banking services.

The new branch, located at Kilifi Plaza is the 9^th in the coast region.

According to Peter Tsuma, the branch manager, the branch will offer a wide array of services ranging from asset finance and women banking to business loans, trade finance and digital banking options.

This is part of the lender’s long-term commitment to empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which it describes as the engine of Kenya’s economic growth.

Speaking during the launch, Family Bank CEO Nancy Njau said the expansion is aligned with the Bank’s 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, which focuses on branch optimization and the rollout of SME-specific hubs that integrate physical and digital solutions.

“As a Bank, our focus remains on retail banking. Kilifi’s growing demand for financial services presents a compelling opportunity for us to support the growth of the local business community,” said Njau.

“This expansion reflects our continued commitment to empowering SMEs and strengthening our presence as the Preferred Bank for business,” she added.

Also Read: Heineken delivers ultimate UCL final viewing experience for hardcore football fans

The Kilifi outlet joins a growing network of Family Bank branches, making it the eighth-largest lender in Kenya by branch count, with operations now covering 32 counties. The bank currently boasts over 1.2 million customers, 6,000 bank agents, and 75,000 merchants countrywide.

Vincent Mwakio, a businessman in the transport industry in Kilifi, said the opening of the branch was long overdue.

He said customers were forced to travel to either Malindi or Mtwapa where the bank had branches.

“I have been banking with this bank for many years but the biggest challenge was the lack of a branch within Kilifi town. The nearest branch was in Mtwapa which is about 40 kilometers from kilifi. This inconvenienced us a lot,” he said

In addition to the Kilifi launch, Family Bank recently relocated its Kangemi, Kisii, and Ngara branches to new modern facilities designed to improve accessibility and enhance customer experience.

Family Bank has in recent years positioned itself as a champion of digital innovation, being the first in Kenya to roll out paperless banking, mobile services through PesaPap, and the mVisa platform — the latter being a first in Africa.

As of December 2024, Family Bank had total assets of KSh168.5 billion and a deposit base of KSh126.4 billion.

The bank continues to earn industry recognition, recently bagging the Excellence in Customer Responsiveness award at the 2024 Innovation and Excellence Awards East Africa and being named the Best Tier-Two Bank for the fifth year running in the Kenya Bankers Association’s Customer Satisfaction and Digital Banking Experience Survey.

It was also named Banking on Women Awards winner and took home the Service Excellence Award in the CX Social Impact and Sustainability category by the Institute of Customer Experience.