The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has approved 173 digital loan applications to operate in the country.
Out of the 173, only 119 have full approvals to operate, and 54 have conditional approvals. After digital loan apps started harassing innocent Nigerians, the FCCPC began a registration drive to protect citizens from the unfair practices of these apps. You may like to also check the full list of approved loan apps in Nigeria.
FCCPC released a ‘Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022’ to regulate the digital lending apps and make registration and approval a prerequisite for companies seeking to operate in Nigeria.
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.
Commenting on its effort against digital lending apps in August 2022, the FCCPC said, “In addition to the enforcement action (s) and in furtherance of the desire to promote fair, transparent and mutually beneficial alternative lending opportunities apart from traditional lending to consumers, the inter-agency Joint Regulatory
and Enforcement Task Force has developed and mutually adopted a Limited Interim Regulatory/ Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022, as the first and interim step to establishing a clear regulatory framework.
“This becomes enforceable immediately. It requires permission to proceed with digital lending; it provides a limited moratorium period for existing businesses to comply in order to continue in digital lending.
“The guidelines also mandate different service providers in the relevant ecosystem (such as banks, access/download platforms or stores, technology providers and payment systems) to require regulatory approval before providing services.”
Loans from the FCCPC’s approval will be removed from the Play Store by Google and unavailable for download.