The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has updated the list of delisted loan apps The Commission named about 37 illegal loan apps and asked Google to delete them from its Play Store Also, it granted full approval to about seven new loan apps and placed others under its watchlist.
According to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the number of delisted loan apps has risen to 37. The FCCPC also updated the number of approved loan apps from 154 to 165 as of Monday, September 11, 2023.
FCCPC gives full approval to two new loan apps The number of loan apps with conditional approval reduced from 40 to 38, meaning two more loan apps gave full permission, while the Commission placed about 50 loan apps under its watchlist.
The development follows a sustained overhaul of the digital money lending space by the Commission after harassment of Nigerians by the operators of the loan apps. FCCPC said on its website that delighted loan apps were deleted permanently by Google from its Play Store.
It listed the names of the delisted apps as: Swiftkash App, Hen Credit Loan App, Cash Door App, Joy Cash-Loan Up To 1,000,000 App, Eaglecash App, Luckyloan Personal Loan App, Getloan App, Easeloan Apps, Naira Naija, Cashlawn App, Easynaira App, Crediting App, Yoyi App, Nut Loan App, Cashpal App, Nairaeasy Gist Loan App, Camelloan App, Nairaloan App, Moneytreefinance Made Easy App Cashme App, Secucash App, Creditbox App, Cashmama App, Crimson Credit App, Galaxy Credit App, Ease Cash App, Xcredit, Imoney, Naira Naija, Imoneyplus-Instant, Nairanaija-Instant, Nownowmoney, Naija Cash, Eagle Cash, Firstnell App, Flypay, and Spark Credit.
Also, FCCPC has approved seven new loan apps as of August 4, 2023, when it released the names of the approved loan apps in Nigeria.
FCCPC continues crack down on illegal loan apps The Commission has intensified its fight against illegal lending companies in Nigeria and cracked down on a few that violate its guidelines and continue their persistent harassment of Nigerians.
The Commission’s Chairman, Babatunde Irukera, acknowledged that the digital lending space is booming but presents different challenges in monitoring and regulation. He said digital lending is a powerful tool for prosperity but could also be wrongly exploited and impoverish people through exploitative practices.
Recently, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) raised the alarm over the increasing number of loan apps harvesting telecom users’ phone numbers to harass them.
The commission denied reports that it is issued the numbers to the loan apps, while stating that it will prosecute loan apps and telemarketers which continue to harass phone users. Legit.com reported that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has given loan apps five day dayss to prove that they operate within the set guidelines governing the industry or be deleted and sanctioned.
FCCPC also asked Google to remove the 18 loan apps from Playstore for violation of its guidelines. The commission said compliance with its rules was mandatory, and failure to adhere constitutes a violation of the law