The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) of the Federal Government has unveiled a fresh catalog of 154 fully authorized digital lenders that are granted licenses to function within the nation.
In addition to these, 40 other lenders have been conditionally approved, while 20 have been placed on an observation list, and nine apps have been removed from the list.
Moreover, the FCCPC has highlighted that the Central Bank of Nigeria has issued licenses to four additional entities: Fastcredit Limited, Greenbond Finance Company Limited, Baines Microfinance Bank Limited, and Ekondo Microfinance Bank Limited.
This disclosure of approved digital lenders comes in the wake of a recent transformation in the digital money lending sector initiated by the FCCPC. This was prompted by the continuous harassment of Nigerian individuals by these lending platforms.
This development has transpired following the FCCPC’s imposition of a five-day ultimatum for digital money lenders to demonstrate their compliance with the established guidelines. This directive was previously communicated when the FCCPC urged Google to remove 18 digital lending applications from the Playstore due to their mistreatment of Nigerians.
Among the authorized loan applications in Nigeria are Clan pp, Nextpayday app, Palmcredit app, Flypay app, Paylater app, Moneypal app, Goloan app, Sycamore app, Branch Mobile app, Fairmoney app, Regxta app, Carbon app, and several others.
Applications with provisional approvals encompass Soko Loan, Creditmoney app, Lucred app, Altara app, Rivermoney app, Indicina loan app, Growly app, Kwaba app, Helppo app, and more.
Apps under the FCCPC’s scrutiny list encompass Getloan, Camelloan, Joy Cash-Loan up to 1,000,000, Nairaloan, Moneytree Finance Made Easy, Luckyloan Personal Loan, Cashme, Easynaira, Crediting, and Hen Credit Loan (Orange Loan and Purple Credit Ltd.). Additionally, Nut Loan, Cash Door, Cashpal, Nairaeasy Gist Loan, Secucash, Creditbox-africa, Switfcash, Swiftkash app, Eaglecash app, and Moneytreefinance Made Easy app are included.
The list of apps that have been delisted (i.e., unapproved loan apps) consists of Wiftkash 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, and Xgo Finance Limited [Xcredit, Naira Naija, Imoneyplus-Instant, Nairanaija-Instant, Nownowmoney, Naija Cash].
As outlined by the FCCPC, solely digital money lending platforms registered under the Limited Interim Regulatory Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022 are permitted to operate within the country.
