We reduced borrowers’ harassment from digital money lenders by 80% — FCCPC

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), says it has degraded and reduced the harassment and defamatory messages sent by digital money lenders to their customers by 80 per cent.

Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, said this at a strategic media engagement organised by the Commission in Abuja on Thursday.

Irukera said the desire and aspiration of the Commission was to eliminate the defamatory messages, intrusion on people’s privacy and achieve more ethical lending.

He said that it was more easier to proscribe digital money lending but traditional lending would not plunge the gap covered by digital lending.

Irukera said that although there were still pockets of violators, the Commission would not relent in sanitising the space.

According to him, as a regulator, ours is to understand their course and balance it against their desires.

”Some of the lenders used to tell us that when we call a borrower now, they send us your photograph and a statement by FCCPC but that is not right.

”But I tell them, tell your problems to God, my mandate is to protect consumers but I understand that we also have a mandate in protecting consumers to preserve business.

”If we allow businesses to die, it is a failed approach to consumer protection.

”Nigeria is struggling with digital lending.This is a struggle that is not isolated to us alone.

”India, Kenya, Brazil, Ghana, Uganda are still struggling in digital lending. Some of these countries are taking lessons from what we have done,” he said.

On the scorecard of the Commission, Irukera said there was still much to be done to ensure a balanced market to the protection of citizens.

”The road ahead is far more so, we will keep doubling our efforts.”