The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has issued an order asking Google to immediately delete Swiftcash and 17 other loan apps from the Play store.
The Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the commission just observed that the apps had been operating on the Google Play store without regulatory approval or in contravention of the Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending.
The other apps the commission directed should be removed from the Google platform include Easynaira, Getloan, Joy Cash-Loan, Camelloan, Cashlawn, Nairaloan, Eaglecash, Moneytreefinance Made Easy, Luckyloan and Cashme.
Also, the order also affected Crediting, Swiftkash, Hen Credit loan, Nut loan, Cash door, Cashpal, and Nairaeasy gist loan.
Irukera maintained that the FCCPC would continue to engage with Google to determine how and why apps that had not secured relevant regulatory approvals are available on Google’s Playstore.
He clarified: “Under the Guidelines, only DMLs that have been subjected to regulatory scrutiny and compliance evidenced by written approval from the Commission are allowed on Playstore. The Commission notes that some DMLs have resorted to the use of Android Package Kits (APK) file formats to reach consumers outside of the Google Play store.
“This appears to be a device by some of these DMLs to evade or avoid regulatory compliance”, the FCCPC chief added.
According to him, compliance with the Guidelines is mandatory for all DMLs irrespective of whether they intend to be placed on Playstore, operate by APK file formats, or any other means for that matter and failure to comply with the Guidelines is a violation of law and renders any such operation illegal.
In view of the ugly development, the FCCPC boss said all approved digital lenders would now have to revalidate their registration by resubmitting their information to the Commission.
It would be recalled the regulatory commission had recently deleted over 180 registered DMLs from its website and said the list was undergoing thorough assessment in its efforts to sanitize the digital loan apps space.
