Nigeria: FCCPC Orders Removal of 18 Apps from Google Playstore Due to Regulatory Violations

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed Google Limited Liability Company (LLC) to take down the applications (apps) of 18 Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) from its Playstore. These DMLs have been operating without obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, leading to concerns about their practices, including sharp practices, customer intimidation, and unconventional loan recovery methods.

Popularly known as loan sharks in Nigeria, these DMLs have garnered notoriety for their questionable operational models. The identified apps that have been ordered for removal include Getloan, Joy Cash-Loan Up to 1,000,000, Camelloan, Cashlawn, Nairaloan, Eaglecash, Moneytreefinance Made Easy, Luckyloan Personal Loan, Cashme, Easynaira, Swiftcash, Crediting, Swiftkash, Hen Credit loan, Nut loan, Cash door, Cashpal, and Nairaeasy gist loan.

The FCCPC made this disclosure in a statement signed by its Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Babatunde Irukera. These apps were not among those previously delisted on July 20th, 2023.

The statement highlighted that the Commission’s investigation and audit led to the discovery of additional apps operating on Google Playstore without obtaining the required regulatory approval or complying with the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022 (Guidelines).

As per the Guidelines, only DMLs that have undergone regulatory scrutiny and obtained written approval from the Commission are permitted on Playstore. The Commission is in ongoing discussions with Google to understand how and why apps without the necessary regulatory approvals are accessible on its platform.

Furthermore, the Commission noted that some DMLs are resorting to the use of Android Package Kits (APK) file formats to reach consumers outside of the Google Playstore. This approach appears to be an attempt by certain DMLs to evade or circumvent regulatory compliance.

The FCCPC’s actions aim to protect consumers from potentially harmful lending practices and to enforce compliance with the established regulatory framework for digital lending services.