Nigerians graze for fintech is hurting the economy as many are operating undercover to do illegal deals. Some of them are application developed and marketed under Google or apple store. Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has blamed Google and Apple store for shielding the owners of some defaulting online money lending platform over consumer rights violations. This assertion is coming on the heels of the commission ordering Google and Apple to enforce the withdrawal of these money lending applications from their stores where evidence of inappropriate conduct or use of the application in violation of the rights of consumers has been found.
Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Babtunde Irukera said this while speaking at a collaborative engagement with the media in Lagos. Irukera said that he considered the development a potential threat to key national interest, adding that as Google and Apple store use their apple stores as platform for these kind of apps to operate, there is a national problem.
Irukera averred, “No company, no matter what benefit they bring into the country should have that prerogative or opportunity of being that anonymous. You can imagine Google doing a letter without a fixed address and stating that Google Nigeria is different from Google international. This is the problem we are dealing with at the moment. So, we must hold the big ones who are making a tonne of money from our citizens responsible. If we can hold them responsible and they become liable for that kind of conduct, then we can cascade down and we can talk to Instagram that if anyone is going to sell stuff on your platform, there must be certain information that must be available. You cannot provide those platform, make your money and look the other way while people who come on that platform exploit people and people are stuck.
“There has to be a level ground for everyone. In the absence of that, even your business itself is an exploitation. If you are not the exploiter, you are at least ceding the platform to exploiters to exploit people.” Irukera said that it is easier to hold Google responsible for those individuals behind the online money lenders. He said the commission might need to work with law enforcement in the United States, to get them come up with the information needed to get those behind the digital lenders. Irukera further said, “We have our counterparts there and we will use our counterparts to say to Google that you are not welcome in this country if we cannot find you; that a regulator cannot engage you when your platform is used to exploit people. No! You are not welcomed. You are absolutely un-welcomed if your platform can be used to exploit the people and the regulator could not prevent that exploitation. Therefore, you are absolutely un-welcomed. And I have absolutely no apologies for saying that about Google.”
Irukera expressed frustration over the inability of the commission in contacting Google while trying to pull out apps from the Google Store. He said, “I find that extremely reprehensible and shameful of a company the size and magnitude with Google, that you are hardly where you can be found. It is the height of reckless irresponsibility. That a company with a brand and a name like Google and so I intend to hold Google accountable.’’ March 11, a combined team of federal regulatory agencies in a raid through its joint committee investigating rights violations and unfair practices shut down some illegal online money lending companies for not registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and engaging in activities against the rights of Nigerian consumers. These online illegal money lenders charged interest rates that violate the ethics of how lending is done and were involved in naming and shaming which is a violation of people’s privacy with respect to how these lenders recover loans, among other violations.
The lending companies offer short-term loans to help subscribers meet urgent needs, but resort to unprofessional measures of harassment, cyberbullying, and breach of data privacy of their customers who may have defaulted in loan repayment. Some of the affected online money lending banks include; GoCash, Okash, EasyCredit, Kashkash, Speedy Choice and Easy Moni.
