The Federal Government has announced its intention to enforce a fresh regulatory structure concerning digital money lenders (DMLs) commonly referred to as loan apps. Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), revealed this during an interview with TVC on Monday.
He highlighted that the upcoming regulations aim to tackle the increasing levels of indebtedness among Nigerians to DMLs.
Irukera emphasized that a major issue within the sector is the tendency of DMLs to engage in abusive practices during loan recovery. Furthermore, he mentioned that the implementation of the Commission’s temporary framework has resulted in an 80% decrease in harassment and defamatory communications from loan apps.
“One of the big issues that we’re seeing is that there’s now a significant level of loan default because people are not able to use these unethical and inappropriate loan recovery mechanisms, and I’m insistent that you cannot say to me that the only language Nigerians understand is to abuse them. No, I disagree.
“We must necessarily do the work no matter how hard it is to find a more sensible way to recover loans because I also agree that if these digital money lenders are unable to recover their loans and drop out of the market, it’s a consumer protection problem because of those who need those types of short-term unsecured lending.
“So, we have to find the balance, and some of the regulations that will come out in 2024 will be a broader approach to responsible borrowing and lending by individuals and corporations”, he said.
As per the Commission’s statement, a total of 211 digital money lenders have received approval.
………..
Note : To submit Press Releases, Statements, and Advert Inquiries for publication on Waffi blog (website) or Television 📺, please use the following contact details: You can send an email to info@waffitv.com or reach us via Whatsapp at 07068286500
