Google has announced that personal loan apps on its Play Store in Nigeria will no longer be allowed to access their users’ contacts or photos from May 31, 2023.
The policy update is aimed at curbing the invasion of customer privacy by loan app firms. The move comes after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) registered 170 loan apps out of 200 operating in the country to address the violation of customers’ privacy by loan apps.
The recent update to the Developer Programme Policy mandates digital money lenders to conform to regulatory rules or be taken down.
This new policy is a welcome development effort that institutionalizes regulatory policies in the Nigerian digital lending industry, said the CEO of the FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera.
The commission has approved 173 digital lending applications to operate in the country, with 119 receiving full approvals and 54 receiving conditional approvals.
The FCCPC’s Limited Interim Regulatory/Registration Framework and Guidelines for Digital Lending 2022 is aimed at regulating the digital lending space and making registration and approval a prerequisite for companies seeking to operate in the space.
Many loan apps in Nigeria do not adhere to Google’s policy, which states that it does not allow apps that promote personal loans requiring repayment in full in 60 days or less from the date the loan is issued, exposing Nigerians to confidential data leaks.
The new policy update by Google is expected to provide respite for loan app users in Nigeria and other places that have become accustomed to crude loan retrieval methods employed by a majority of loan apps.
The FCCPC has taken the position that loan apps should be restrained from pulling off people’s phones’ sensitive information and what they can do with that information, especially with respect to making contact with people on the contact list and their loan recovery practices.
The latest policy update by Google, which is consistent with the regulatory policies and position of the FCCPC, is expected to foster proper regulatory oversight of the digital lending industry.
