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.
“This becomes enforceable immediately. It requires permission to proceed in 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.”
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.
