- Commercial banks provide current accounts,savings and fixed accounts but NBFIs mainly operate savings and fixed deposit accounts.
- Commercial banks normally provide short and medium term finance while NBFIs provide medium and long term finance.
- Commercial banks provide finance that is not restricted to any particular activity while NBFIs provide finance for specified purpose
- Commercial banks provide foreign exchange transactions to their customers while NBFIs do not.
- Commercial banks are the key participants in money market of an economy-a market for short term loans,bank overdrafts and government treasury bills whereas NBFIs are key participants in capital market-a market dealing with long term finances e.g. bonds and mortgages.
- Commercial banks are members of clearing house operated the central bank where banks exchanges cheques drawn against them their clients whereas NBFIs do not provide cheques to their customers for use in transactions.
- Commercial banks are usually involved in credit creation activities while NBFIs are not involved in this activities.
- Commercial banks are used the central bank to regulate the quantity of money supply in the economy while NBFIs are not under the direct control of central bank and cant be used to regulate money supply in an economy.
Commercial banks operate bank account with the central bank of Kenya which is the bankers bank whereas NBFIs intermediaries do not have this facilities