FG approves 173 loan apps, bars illegal online banks…

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has approved 173 digital lending applications to operate in the country.

Of the 173, 119 have full approvals and 54 have conditional approvals. After loan apps started harassing Nigerians, the FCCPC began a registration drive to protect citizens from the atrocities of these apps.

It released a ‘Limited Interim Regulatory/ Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022’ to regulate the digital lending space and make registration and approval a prerequisite for companies seeking to operate in the space.

After shifting its deadline multiple times, it finally adopted March 27, 2023, as the close of registration. The commission has now released a list of approved apps that can operate in the country. Companies without approvals will not be able to operate in the space.

Some of the approved loan apps listed by the commission include Branch International Financial Services Limited, Fairmoney Micro Finance Bank, Pivo Technology Limited, Renmoney Microfinance Bank Limited, Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited, Creditwave Finance Limited amongst others.

Loans without the FCCPC’s approval will be removed from Play Store by Google and unavailable for download.

In November, Google Play announced updates to its Developer Program Policy, which mandated that digital money lenders in Nigeria, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya must conform to regulatory rules.

This was expected to come into force from January 31, 2023. In March, Google took down hundreds of unapproved loan apps from the Play Store in Kenya according to a report on TechCrunch.

In February 2023, the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau revealed that a national committee, made up of federal agencies, was working in tandem to clip the activities of illegal loan apps in the country.