The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it will intensify enforcement against Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) due to observed violations of the Inter-agency joint task force guidelines.

A statement on Monday by Adamu Abdullahi, the commission’s acting executive vice-chairman, said FCCPC had a zero-tolerance for the exploitation of consumers or abusive conduct.

Mr Abdullahi said the commission would not tolerate the exploitation of consumers by DMLs in loan default enforcement or recovery processes.

He said the commission would engage approved loan companies with respect to a more robust compliance framework.

“FCCPC, in continuing investigation and monitoring of DMLs, has observed an upsurge in violations of the Inter-agency Joint Task Force’s Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022.

“The commission understands the increased demand for loans during this time of the year, leading to an increased risk of default due to large numbers and typical cash flow challenges and constraints.

“However, the solution cannot be to violate the law or utilise unethical recovery methods,” said Mr Abdullahi.

He stated that the commission would welcome timely compliance by legitimate operators to promote fairness to consumers.

“With respect to operators that do not possess the commission’s approval, the scrutiny process will include law enforcement action against such, in addition to regulatory prohibition and consequences,’’ he added.

Mr Abdullahi reiterated the commission’s commitment to ensuring legal and ethical operations in digital lending.

He encouraged consumers to patronise only approved DMLs listed on the commission’s website,  www.fccpc.gov.ng, saying that feedback and complaints could also be forwarded to lenderstaskforce@fccpc.gov.ng. 

(NAN)