Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has granted approval to 173 digital lending apps to operate in Nigeria. Among these, 119 apps have received full approvals while 54 have conditional approvals.

The approval comes after several Nigerians were harassed by loan apps, which prompted the FCCPC to initiate a registration drive to protect citizens from their malpractices. To regulate the digital lending space and make registration and approval mandatory for companies seeking to operate, the FCCPC released a ‘Limited Interim Regulatory/ Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022.’

The commission set March 27, 2023, as the registration deadline and has released a list of approved apps that can operate in the country. Any company without the FCCPC’s approval will not be able to operate in the space, and Google will remove unapproved loan apps from the Play Store.

According to The Punch, the approved loan apps include Branch International Financial Services Limited, Fairmoney Micro Finance Bank, Pivo Technology Limited, Renmoney Microfinance Bank Limited, Carbon Microfinance Bank Limited, Creditwave Finance Limited, and others.