Nigeria has been struggling with a shortage in physical cash since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) began to swap old bills of the local naira currency for new, re-designed ones, leading to a shortfall in banknotes
Nigeria has been struggling with a shortage in physical cash since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) began to swap old bills of the local naira currency for new, re-designed ones, leading to a shortfall in banknotes IBTimes US

The federal government announced on Thursday via the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) that it will be removing all illegal or unregistered digital loan apps from Nigeria.

Aside from delisting illegal apps, the government also disclosed that two legal loan apps will also be removed from Google Play Store, as they were reportedly harassing Nigerians.

Considering the illegal digital apps, FCCPC said the commission has placed those digital moneylenders on the list of those who have "refused or failed to register under the guidelines on its watchlist for strict surveillance and necessary action," Punch reported.

"The list of those digital moneylenders will be made available on the commission's website," FCCPC added. "The Commission will continue to scrutinize listed DMLs and periodically update the list to ensure only businesses that consistently and completely comply with the spirit and intention of the regulatory framework are allowed to do business legally in Nigeria."

The federal government advised Nigerians to choose from the approved list of digital lenders in order to protect themselves.

FCCPC noted it has permanently delisted digital lenders like Sycamore Integrated Solutions Limited and Orange Loan, and Purple Credit Limited alongside their respective applications named Getloan and Camelloan.

The decision was made after investigating the applications and tracking the illegally operating digital moneylenders.

"The commission has discovered duplicity by at least two otherwise legally registered digital moneylenders on the commission's approval list," FCCPC added, noting these illegal digital lenders provide APK files to attract vulnerable Nigerians to download their applications.

APK is a file format used to install any Android-based application without Google Play Store. The commission requested Nigerians to download approved apps, available on Google Play Store, rather than directly using APK files.

The government set March 27 as a deadline for companies to register themselves with the government under "Limited Interim Regulatory/ Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022" to get the approvals for their money lending apps.

However, it was reported in April that out of 173 applications, only 119 apps received full approvals, while 54 others were granted partial approval based on conditions.

Considering the approved apps, Branch International Financial Services Limited, Fairmoney Micro Finance Bank, Pivo Technology Limited, Renmoney Microfinance Bank Limited, Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited and Creditwave Finance Limited are some of the approved apps that Nigerians can use.

Whereas, the illegal apps include Maxi Credit, Here4U, Chacha and SoftPay. On FCCPC's request, Google has already removed many such apps from its platform completely.

In fact, Google announced last year in November that money lending apps in countries like Nigeria, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya must comply with the rules of their respective countries.

Read more