The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) released a list of approved digital money lenders in Nigeria on 25 May 2023. Titled ‘The Status of Registration of Fintech/Digital Companies with FCCPC on the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022’, the list was published on FCCPC’s website. 

In one of our previous updates, we reported that the FCCPC issued the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022 (the ‘Digital Lending Framework and Guidelines’). The purpose of this is to protect consumers from “loan sharks” in Nigeria’s digital lending space. This is by virtue of the FCCPC’s statutory duty to protect and promote the interest and welfare of consumers. One of the ways the FCCPC does this is by ensuring the adoption of measures that guarantee that goods and services are safe for intended use. And it is quite commendable to see the support Google has been giving to the FCCPC by ensuring that these “loan sharks” are taken off the Play Store.