The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has barred Maxi Credit, Here4U, Chacha and SoftPay from operating in Nigeria.

Babatunde Irukera, the FCCPC’s executive vice chairman, issued a statement to this effect on Thursday.

Irukera said that the FCCPC had barred some loan sharks, including Soko Lending Ltd., in the past but information gathered over a prolonged period of surveillance showed that the companies found ways to continue their operations through other subsidiaries and mobile applications like Maxi credit and Here4U, among others.

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“With the operations today, the commission expects appreciable additional reduction in these unacceptable practices,” Irukera stated.

“The commission has also today entered further Orders that will disable or diminish violators’ ability to devise circumvention efforts or alternative mechanisms to circumvent the objective of the investigation and protection of citizens.”

The FCCPC also instructed fintech solution providers like Flutterwave, Opay, Paystack and Monify to stop offering payment or transaction services to such lending apps.

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FCCPC also ordered telecommunication companies, including Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), to halt key services to lenders who are targets/subjects of investigations.

“Guidelines mandate different service providers in the relevant ecosystem (such as banks, access/download platforms or stores, technology providers and payment systems) to require regulatory approval before providing service,” Irukera wrote.

FIJ had reported how loan sharks utilise mobile apps to violate the privacy of borrowers.