The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has promised to release a full list of unregistered or illegal loan apps in Nigeria.
The FCCPC said this on Thursday in an official press release signed by the Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera.
Irukera in the statement said that the Commission would also delist two legal/registered loan apps from Google Play Store for harassing Nigerians.
The FCCPC also disclosed that it has delisted a few loan apps while making a vow to close more in its effort to protect the general public.
Release: Update on Registration of Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) Under the Inter-Agency Joint Task Force's Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022@NigeriaGov @NGRSenate @HouseNGR @officialEFCC pic.twitter.com/7u451whVv8
— FCCPC Nigeria (@fccpcnigeria) July 20, 2023
It added that digital moneylenders that have yet to register under its guidelines have been added to its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action.
“The commission has also placed digital money lenders that have refused or failed to register under the guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action,” the statement read in part.
“The list of those digital money lenders will be made available on the commission’s website.
“The Commission will continue to scrutinise listed DMLs and periodically update the list to ensure only businesses that consistently and completely comply with the spirit and intention of the regulatory framework are allowed to do business legally in Nigeria.”
It advised Nigerians to exercise restraint and discretion in selecting digital money lenders and specifically, recommended that consumers only patronise digital lenders on its approved list to avoid falling victim to illegal and prohibited lending and recovery practices.
The FCCPC listed the permanently delisted digital lenders as Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan as well as Purple Credit Limited, along with their respective apps — ‘Getloan’ and ‘Camelloan.’
The commission said that it came to the decision to delist the digital lenders after thoroughly investigating their apps.
“In the course of the commission’s continuing investigation and tracking of these illegally operating digital money lenders, the commission has discovered duplicity by at least two otherwise legally registered digital money lenders on the commission’s approval list.”
