FG Orders Flutterwave, Opay, Paystack to Restrict Loan Apps from Payment Services
TECH DIGEST- The Federal Government has ordered Flutterwave, Opay, Paystack, and Monify to halt providing payment services to loan Apps under investigation. This decision comes from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The named Apps—Maxim Credit, Here4U, ChaCha, and SoftPay—were all under investigation, according to the Commission, for unethical conduct and invasions of consumer privacy.
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It specifically identified Soko Loan as the entity responsible for a number of other Apps that were being utilised to go around the Commission’s attempts to protect user privacy. Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC Babatunde Irukera responded to this development by saying; “The information available to the Commission demonstrates that Soko Lending appears to be the most consequential digital money lender with multiple apps and brand names covering a significant share of the digital/online lending market, and one of the most prolific actors in violating consumer privacy, fair lending terms, and the ethical loan repayment and recovery practices.”
“The commission has ordered all operating payment systems including Flutterwave, Opay, Paystack, and Monify to immediately cease and desist providing payment or transaction services to lenders under investigation or not otherwise operating with applicable regulatory approvals. The Commission has also ordered telecommunication/technology companies (including Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to cease and desist providing server/hosting, or other key services such as connectivity to disclosed or known lenders who are targets/subjects of investigation or otherwise operating without regulatory approval,” he said.
Soko Lending Company Limited (Soko Loans) was fined N10 million by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for violating people’s privacy in August 2021. Later, at the FCCPC’s request, the Soko Loan app was taken down from the App Store.
