New regulations may improve Nigerian digital lending

Significance

This follows a March 31 deadline for operators to register and subject themselves to a basic screening process. This reflects government efforts to create partial regulatory frameworks for the industry following well-publicised reports of abuse and exploitative practices.

Impacts

• Greater transparency will allow regulators and analysts better to grasp the size of the industry.
• Better regulation could expand financial access to unbanked consumers.
• The new regulatory measures may curtail some exploitative lending practices.
• More active regulation may force tech companies such as Google and Apple to screen Nigerian lenders more rigorously in their app stores.