FCCPC: 18 Unapproved loan apps to be remove from Playstore

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued an order to Google Limited Liability Company (LLC) to take down 18 Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) applications from its Playstore. These apps, commonly referred to as loan sharks in Nigeria, have been operating without relevant regulatory approvals and engaging in sharp practices, customer intimidation, and unconventional loan recovery methods.

The identified apps 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.

In a statement signed by Mr. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, it was revealed that these apps were not among those delisted on July 20th, 2023.

The FCCPC continues its investigation and audit, identifying apps on Google Playstore operating without regulatory approval or in violation of the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022. The commission has demanded Google to promptly remove these apps.

The Guidelines state that only DMLs with written approval from the Commission, demonstrating regulatory scrutiny and compliance, are permitted on Playstore. Some DMLs have attempted to bypass regulatory compliance by using Android Package Kits (APK) file formats to reach consumers outside of the Google Playstore. The FCCPC is actively engaging Google to understand how and why such apps without regulatory approvals are available on the platform.