THE Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said the number of delisted loan apps from the Google Play store has risen to 37.

The FCCPC disclosed this on its official website, and checks by The ICIR on Tuesday, September 12, showed the number of fully approved loan apps is 164, loan apps with conditional approval are 38, loan apps on the watchlist are 56, and four apps under waivers or licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

On July 21, 2023, The ICIR reported that the FCCPC delisted two digital money lenders for violating customer privacy.

The chief executive officer of the FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, had said some loan apps resorted to unethical, obnoxious, and unscrupulously exploitative practices in the industry.

The FCCPC had in August requested Google, the owner of the Play Store, to remove illegal apps operating without regulatory approval.

The commission had flagged many loan apps for violating the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending, 2022, and initiated efforts to shake up the digital money lending space following harassment of Nigerians by loan app lenders.

“In furtherance of the investigation by the Joint Regulatory and Enforcement Task Force (JRETF) into possible violation of privacy and other rights by Digital Money Lenders (DMLs), the FCCPC has resumed the registration of digital money lending Apps under the Limited Interim Regulatory Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022,” the FCCPC stated.

According to the commission, delisted loan apps were permanently deleted by Google from the Play Store, the Punch reported.

The ICIR has made several reports on the illegal activities of the loan app operators who collected customers’ data, images and other vital information and secretly used them to harass, intimidate and shame customers.

In a report on Monday, April 10, the spokesperson of FCCPC, Ondaje Ijagwu, told The ICIR that the Federal government was putting measures in place to enforce the latest policy by Google.

The commission requested Google to prohibit loan apps from accessing contacts and images of their customers.

The FCCPC’s chairman, Irukera, also promised that the commission’s renewed drive would protect Nigerians’ privacy, thereby tackling the violation of customers’ privacy by loan app operators.

The ICIR recalls that Google had established a policy to remove illegal loan apps from the Play Store in Nigeria, effective January 31, 2023.

Online loan fintech companies sometimes send WhatsApp and text messages to every contact on their customer’s phones, claiming they are debtors and fraudsters.

In August 2021, The ICIR reported how Nigerian fintech companies shamed and threatened customers for late payment of loans.

While many experts in the technology ecosystem have raised concerns over the breach of personal data, the resources manager at the Fintech Association of Nigeria, Seun Folorunso, had told The ICIR in a report that scammers would likely succeed unless the online loan companies introduced a high-level multi-factor authentication like pictures and fingerprints.

Below is the lists of the 37 delisted loan apps:

1. Swiftkash App

2. Hen Credit Loan App

3. Cash Door App

4. Joy Cash-Loan Up To 1,000,000 App

5. Eaglecash App

6. Luckyloan Personal Loan App

7. Getloan App

8. Easeloan Apps

9. Naira Naija

10. Cashlawn App

11. Easynaira App

12. Crediting App

13. Yoyi App

14. Nut Loan App

14. Cashpal App

15. Nairaeasy Gist Loan App

16. Camelloan App

17. Nairaloan App

18. Moneytreefinance Made Easy App

19. Cashme App

20. Secucash App

21. Creditbox App

22. Cashmama App

23. Crimson Credit App

24. Galaxy Credit App

25. Ease Cash App

26. Xcredit

27. Imoney

28. Naira Naija

29. Imoneyplus-Instant

30. Nairanaija-Instant

31. Nownowmoney

32. Naija Cash

33. Eagle Cash

34. Firstnell App

35. Flypay

36. Spark Credit

37. Luckyloan Personal Loan App