By GINIKA OKOYE

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it will intensify enforcement against Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) due to observed violations of the Inter-agency Joint Task Force guidelines.

A statement by Dr Adamu Abdullahi, the Acting Executive Vice-Chairman of the commission, said that FCCPC had zero-tolerance stance for any form of exploitation of consumers or abusive conducts.

Abdullahi issued the statement in Abuja on Monday.

He said that the commission would not tolerate exploitation of consumers by DMLs in loan default enforcement or recovery processes.

He said that the commission would engage approved loan companies with respect to a more robust compliance framework.

“FCCPC, in continuing investigation and monitoring of DMLs, has observed an upsurge in violations of the Inter-agency Joint Task Force’s Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022.

“The commission understands the increased demand for loans during this time of the year, leading to an increased risk of default due to large numbers and typical cash flow challenges and constraints.

“However, the solution cannot be to violate law or utilise unethical recovery methods.

“The commission will welcome demonstrated and timely compliance by all legitimate operators in order to promote and enhance fairness to consumers and fairness among competitors.

“With respect to operators that do not possess the commission’s approval, the scrutiny process will include law enforcement action against such, in addition to regulatory prohibition and consequences,” he said.

Abdullahi reiterated the commission’s commitment to ensuring legal and ethical operations in digital lending.

He encouraged consumers to patronise only approved DMLs listed on the commission’s website www.fccpc.gov.ng, saying that feedback and complaints could also be forwarded to lenderstaskforce@fccpc.gov.ng. (NAN)

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