The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has announced plans to create a new regulatory framework to address Nigerians’ growing reliance on digital money lenders, known as loan apps.
The chief executive officer of the commission, Mr. Babatunde Irkela, disclosed this on Monday while appearing on TVC Live. Irkela said debt to DML has become a major issue in the industry.
The commission claims that while the app has been successful in reducing abuse and harassment through lending, Nigerians who borrow from the platform continue to be failed. Irkela said the rise in debt could lead to the demise of digital lenders, which also play an important role in the economy.
He said attempts were still being made to resolve the remaining 20%, stressing that the commission was dissatisfied with its outcome.
He said that although fintech is new and expanding around the world, the limited and temporary regulatory framework for loan apps is continually changing.
According to him, digital money lending fills an important social void. Therefore, we also need to learn from the industry and how it operates to establish the optimal regulatory ecology for it.
The FCCPC has registered over 200 lending apps under the interim regulatory framework as part of its efforts to clean up the digital lending business by ending unethical practices of defaming and harassing borrowers.