Business

FCCPC Enforces Regulations on Digital Lending

Announcing the gazetting and commencement of the Regulations in his office in Abuja today, the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tunji Bello, stated, “For too long, Nigerians have endured harassment, data breaches, and unethical practices by unregulated digital lenders.

Published

11 months ago

September 3, 2025

OCHEFA

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• FCCPC CEO, Tunji Bello

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has officially issued the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations (DEON Consumer Lending Regulation), 2025, to address longstanding consumer complaints and a variety of issues.

These include exploitative practices, data privacy violations, abusive loan recovery tactics, harassment, and anti-competitive behaviour by certain digital lenders and their partners within Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital credit market.

This landmark Regulations, made pursuant to Sections 17, 18, and 163 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (2018), primarily safeguards consumers by establishing a comprehensive framework.

This framework mandates transparency, fairness, responsible conduct, data privacy, and accessible redress mechanisms, all under the oversight of the FCCPC.

It is a crucial step toward regulating Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital lending sector.

These regulations draw a clear line that innovation is welcome, but not at the expense of rights and dignity of consumers, or the rule of law.”

“This Regulations provide the legal tools to hold violators accountable and promote responsible digital finance.

No consumer should be harassed, defamed, or lured into unsustainable debt under the guise of digital lending,” he added.

The Regulations, which came into effect on July 21, 2025, establishes a robust legal framework to register, monitor, and sanction all forms of digital and non-traditional lending in Nigeria.

Applicable to all unsecured consumer lending conducted through electronic, online, mobile, or other non-traditional means, the regulations set out clear requirements for registration, transparency, data privacy, ethical recovery, fair interest rates, and responsible lending.

Critically, the Regulations prohibits pre-authorised or automatic lending, compel clear and accessible loan terms, ban unethical marketing, and mandate local ownership of at least one service provider for airtime and data lending services.

It also requires joint registration of all lender partnerships and prohibits monopolistic or dominance-based agreements without prior Commission’s approval.

Under its provisions, all digital lenders must register with the FCCPC within 90 days of commencement. Approval is dependent on meeting consumer protection, data compliance, and transparency standards.

Non-compliant operators face sanctions, which may include fines of up to ₦100 million or 1% of turnover, as well as potential disqualification of directors for up to five years.

The FCCPC urges all current and intending providers of digital lending services, including Mobile Money Operators (MMOs), Digital Money Lenders (DMLs), and service partners, to visit www.fccpc.gov.ng for application forms, guidelines, and compliance requirements.

Consumers are advised to report unlawful or unregistered lenders, unfair interest rates, or privacy violations to the Commission through its complaint portal.

Related Topics:FCCPC digital lending regulations enforcement Featured

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Business

Cardoso Urges Banks To Lend Out Idle Funds With CBN * Retains MPR at 26.5%

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

Published

2 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso , urged banks from keeping idle funds with the apex bank and encouraging increased lending into the economy.

Cardoso made the call on Tuesday after the 306th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja from July 20 to July 21.

The apex bank retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), also known as benchmark interest rate, at 26. 5 percent.

This decision marks the second consecutive retention of the MPR at 26.5 per cent, following a 50-basis-point reduction in February from 27 per cent.

“The committee’s decision to maintain the current policy stand follows a thorough assessment of the balance of risk,” said Cardoso.

He emphasised that although headline inflation moderated marginally in June 2026, global uncertainties have heightened due mainly to the renewed hostilities in the Middle East.

The MPC also adjusted the asymmetric facilities corridor around the MPR to +50/-450 basis points—a move aimed at discouraging banks from keeping idle fund with CBN.

Furthermore, the committee maintained the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks at 45 per cent, retained the rate for merchant banks at 16 per cent, and kept the CRR on non-TSA public-sector deposits at 75 per cent for liquidity management considerations.

Cardoso said despite the global uncertainties, the Nigerian economy has “remained largely resilient to the external shocks”.

Business

CBN admits it opened domiciliary accounts for PFIPC agency

Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said that the accounts are one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

Published

11 hours ago

July 21, 2026

OCHEFA

20 Views

File photo : PFIPC agency DG, Adeniyi Adeyemi

The Central Bank of Nigeria had admitted that it opened two foreign-currency domiciliary accounts for the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).

The apex bank made the confirmation, yesterday, during the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

He explained that on July 30, 2025, CBN received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General.

“We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.

He explained the CBN’s verification process, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.

The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.

Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.