The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (the "FCCPC") as part of its continuing investigation and audit functions, established the Joint Regulatory and Enforcement Task Force (the "JRETF") in collaboration with other governmental agencies. The JRETF is charged with the responsibility of clamping down on lenders who violate the ethics of lending and the privacy of their customers/borrowers. In pursuance of this, the JRETF has identified Digital Money Lenders ("DMLs") operating in Nigeria without regulatory approval or violating the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022 (the "Guidelines"), and whose apps are available for download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
The FCCPC recently added 18 DML Apps to its Prohibited List. The DML Apps affected are: Getloan, Joy Cash-Loan Up to 1,000,000, Camelloan, Cashlawn, Nairaloan, Eaglecash, Moneytreefinance Made Easy, Luckyloan Personal Loan, Cashme, Easynaira, Swiftcash, Crediting, Swiftkash, Hen Credit loan, Nut loan, Cash Door, Cashpal, Nairaeasy Gist Loan.
FCCPC also noted that it had obtained an order from the Court for Google to immediately remove, withdraw or drawdown the prohibited DML Apps from its Apps Store. Currently, there are 195 fully approved or conditionally approved DMLs, and the list is being updated periodically by the FCCPC. The current list of approved DMLs is available on the FCCPC's website here.
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