The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has begun enforcing its Digital, Electronic, Online, and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON), targeting Digital Money Lending (DML) operators that failed to regularise their status by the January 5 deadline.
The competition watchdog disclosed this in a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, on Wednesday.
Speaking on the commencement of enforcement measures, according to the statement, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said the actions were necessary to give effect to the regulations and to maintain regulatory certainty in Nigeria’s digital lending market, in line with the commission’s statutory mandate.
“The compliance window provided under the regulations has now closed. At this stage, the commission is proceeding with appropriate enforcement steps in a manner that is fair, orderly, and consistent with due process. The objective is to promote discipline, transparency, and consumer confidence within the digital lending space, not to disrupt legitimate business activity,” Mr Bello said.
In September last year, FCCPC rolled out new rules to curb abusive practices by digital lenders accused of harassing borrowers and breaching their privacy.
The regulations, known as DEON, are designed to address exploitative interest rates, privacy breaches, abusive recovery tactics, harassment and anti-competitive practices in the country’s expanding credit market.
Issued under the 2018 consumer protection law, the measures create a framework to safeguard borrowers through transparency, fairness, responsible conduct, data protection and access to redress. The commission said the rules mark a significant step in bringing order to Nigeria’s fast-growing digital lending sector.
Last November, the competition watchdog set January 5 2026, as the deadline for full compliance.
As part of the approved enforcement framework, the commission on Wednesday said it has withdrawn the conditionally approved status previously granted to certain DML operators that did not complete the required regularisation process within the transitional period.
Consequently, it said such operators have been removed from the FCCPC’s published register of approved digital lenders, pending compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
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Mr Bello noted that the commission’s published register serves as an important consumer information tool.
“The FCCPC’s register is intended to guide the public on operators that have met the applicable regulatory requirements as of the time of publication. Consumers are advised to exercise caution when dealing with digital lenders that do not appear on the commission’s current list of approved operators,” he said.
For those provisionally designated as eligible under transitional arrangements, the commission issued a deadline of April 2026 to regularise their registration under the DEON regulations.
“This window is provided to enable affected operators to take steps towards compliance. Operators that choose not to regularise their status within this period may be subject to further regulatory measures, as provided under the law,” he added.
