The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has announced its intention to take action against loan apps that engage in customer harassment.
According to the commission, numerous complaints have been received from Nigerians regarding the harassment tactics employed by these loan providers.
This follows several efforts by the FCCPC to register and approve legal loan apps with proper guidelines for operations.
The commission had also asked Google to remove the 18 loan apps from Playstore for violation of its guidelines.
According to BBC, the commission’s acting chairman, Adamu Abdullahi, has stated that steps are being taken to tackle this issue.
Abdullahi said:
In March, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission announced an investigation into more than 400 cases of privacy breaches related to online loan apps.
The commission emphasized that its investigations have uncovered significant intrusiveness by these apps.
Additionally, NDPC advocates for a ban or restriction on mobile numbers associated with lenders who have breached their customers’ privacy.
It stated:
Speaking on the matter, Olumide Adesina, a financial analyst, told TimesNow.com.ng that the harassment of customers by loan apps in Nigeria is alarming and unethical.
He said:
He added that users should be cautious and informed about the risks associated with these apps, opting for reputable lenders and seeking financial assistance from more transparent sources.
On its part, the FCCPC reiterated its commitment to ensure legal and ethical operations in digital lending.
In related news, TimesNow.com.ng reported that the FCCPC had issued a new list of 154 companies granted full approval to operate loan apps in Nigeria.
Earlier, the FCCPC delisted the approved companies for ‘clean up.’ After adding apps each firm owns under its approval list, the newly released list is more detailed.
The list of the apps associated with the firms will let customers identify the companies behind the apps they use and also reduce incidents of app duplicity by the companies.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
