The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has disclosed that it reduced the harassment and defamatory messages sent by digital money lenders to their customers by 80%.
Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC Babatunde Irukera, made this known during a strategic media engagement organised by the Commission in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, the desire and aspiration of the Commission is to eliminate the defamatory messages, and intrusion on people’s privacy and achieve more ethical lending.
He said that it was easier to proscribe digital money lending but traditional lending would not plunge the gap covered by digital lending.
“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, and Uganda are still struggling in digital lending. Some of these countries are taking lessons from what we have done,” he said.
