FCCPC Directs Google To Delete 18 Loan Apps From Playstore

The Federal Government through the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has directed Google to delete another 18 digital money lending apps from the Google Playstore.

The commission announced the directive in a statement, signed by its CEO, Babatunde Irukera, on Wednesday, where it listed all 18 apps to be deleted.

According to the statement, the apps were operating on the Playstore without the necessary regulatory approval or were in violation of the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending (2022)

The statement read in part, “The commission entered an order to Google LLC (Google) to remove the same from the Play Store, and prohibited payment gateways or services from providing or continuing services to the affected businesses.

“The commission, as part of its continuing investigation and audit, has identified additional apps operating on the Google Play Store without regulatory approval or in violation of the guidelines.

“Accordingly, the Commission has entered a further order requiring Google to immediately remove, withdraw, or drawdown the following apps:

“Getloan, Joy Cash-Loan Up to 1,000,000, Camelloan, Cashlawn, Nairaloan, Eaglecash, Moneytreefinance Made Easy, Luckyloan Personal Loan, Cashme, Easynaira, Swiftkash, Crediting, Swiftkash, Hen Credit loan, Nut loan, Cash door, Cashpal, and Nairaeasy gist loan.”

THE WHISTLER reported last month when the FCCPC uncovered both registered and unregistered money lending apps which were devising new methods to harass individuals who borrowed money from them.

After taking action against those apps, the body updated its list of registered and approved money lenders to avoid a recurrence.