Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has granted approval to 94 companies to operate as digital money lenders in Nigeria. Out of these, 49 have been given full approval, while the remaining 45 have been granted conditional approval.
Some of the digital money lenders who got full approval include:
- SYCAMORE INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS LIMITED
- TRADE DEPOT
- TAJOW INVESTMENT
- BLUE RIDGE MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
- GROLATECH CREDIT LIMITED
- BRANCH INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED
- P2VEST TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
- CREDITWAVE FINANCE LIMITED
- KEENEST TECH SERVICE LIMITED
- FAIRMONEY MICRO FINANCE BANK
- ALTRACRED FINANCE INVESTIMENT LIMITED
- CREVANCE CREDIT LIMITED
- MENACRED COMPANY LIMITED
- AFROWIDE DEVELOPMENT LTD
- RED PLANET NIGERIA LIMITED
- AFROFIRST MOBILE AND TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LIMITED
- RANKCAPITALS LIMITED
- IBS GOLDEN INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED
- LENDVISERY SERVICES LIMITED
- CREDITWAVE FINANCE LIMITED
- RENMONEY MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED
- SWIPEBILL TECHNOLOGIES NIGERIA LIMITED
- HOMETOWN FINTECH LIMITED
- GIASUN TECHNOLOGY NIGERIA LIMITED
- BE RESOURCES LIMITED
- ROCKIT LENDERS NIGERIA LIMITED
- PIVO TECHNOLOGY LIMIED
- YES CREDIT COMPANY LIMITED
- FUBRIL CENTURY LIMITED
- IRORUN TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
- CSENSE LIMITED
- SUPREME HELP COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED
- ORCOM AND ORCOM BUSSINESS SUPORT LIMITED
- PAYHIPPO LIMITED.
- EASYCHECK FINANCE INVESTMENT LIMITED
See full list here.
The approvals were given as part of an investigation by the Inter-Agency Joint Task Force on Digital Lending Apps, and the registration of these apps to the Limited Interim Regulatory Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022 has begun.
(FCCPC) has worked in collaboration with the Joint Task Force (JTF) to establish a set of rules and regulations for digital lending in Nigeria, called the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines. These guidelines aim to ensure that alternative lending opportunities for Nigerians are fair, transparent and beneficial.
In order to comply with these guidelines, digital lending companies are required to register with the FCCPC and submit two forms, Form DLG 001 and Form DLG 002. These forms provide the commission with information about the company’s identification and operations and also require the company to make declarations regarding its legitimacy, compliance with regulatory requirements, lawful source of funds, compliance with anti-money laundering laws and data protection laws.
Companies that were granted conditional approval still need to fulfill certain requirements before they can be fully approved.
What does this approval mean?
The responsibilities of approved loan apps after this announcement is still not clear but we reckon that an approval from the FCCPC means that the loan apps cannot act out of line when it comes to recovering repayment. Also, based on the track record of the FCCPC, if a user has any issues with a loan app, they can report to the FCCPC and expect the commission to take up the matter in favor of the consumer.
Recently, the TechCity podcast revealed some of the ludicrous activities of loan apps in Nigeria and shared how users can avoid certain pitfalls.