The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that it reduced the harassment and defamatory messages sent by digital money lenders to their customers by 80%.
According to a report seen by Nairametrics from NAN, Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC Babatunde Irukera, made this known during a strategic media engagement organised by the Commission in Abuja on Thursday in
He said the desire and aspiration of the Commission was to eliminate the defamatory messages, and intrusion on people’s privacy and achieve more ethical lending.
He said that it was easier to proscribe digital money lending but traditional lending would not plunge the gap covered by digital lending.
What the FCCPC boss said
- ”Some of the lenders used to tell us that when we call a borrower now, they send us your photograph and a statement by FCCPC but that is not right.
- ”But I tell them, tell your problems to God, my mandate is to protect consumers but I understand that we also have a mandate in protecting consumers to preserve business.
- ”If we allow businesses to die, it is a failed approach to consumer protection.
- ”Nigeria is struggling with digital lending. This is a struggle that is not isolated to us alone.
- ”India, Kenya, Brazil, Ghana, and Uganda are still struggling in digital lending. Some of these countries are taking lessons from what we have done,” he said.
Irukera said that although there were still pockets of violators, the Commission would not relent in sanitising the space.
According to him, as a regulator, “ours is to understand their course and balance it against their desires.
On the scorecard of the Commission, Irukera said there was still much to be done to ensure a balanced market to the protection of citizens. ”The road ahead is far more so, we will keep doubling our efforts.”
Backstory
There has been a contentious battle with loan apps, as the FCCPC got wind of reports on how digital lenders tarnish their customers’ reputations over repayment defaults.
- Collaborating with Google, the Commission successfully curbed loan apps’ access to user contacts and photos, marking a triumph in sanitizing Nigeria’s digital lending sphere.
- Despite FCCPC’s efforts, Nairametrics revealed persistent defamation practices as loan apps continued to harass contacts of debtors in defiance of regulatory orders. An exclusive report shed light on agents from prominent loan apps, disclosing allegedly unethical practices, such as disbursing loans without applications and later pressuring recipients for repayment with interest.
- Faced with persistent breaches of privacy and unethical recovery practices, the FCCPC, took decisive action. In collaboration with key entities such as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), an interim registration framework for digital lenders was introduced.
- Nevertheless, the FCCPC CEO emphasized that registration doesn’t guarantee complete compliance, acknowledging that some registered companies may still engage in unlawful practices. However, he asserted that the registration process serves as a crucial tool in curbing violations.
- Despite these disconcerting revelations, Nigerians remain undeterred in seeking credit from digital lenders. A study disclosed that 27% of Nigerians across income categories turn to loan apps to manage expenses amid record inflation.