Nigeria Digital Lending Shifts After FCCPC 2025 Rules

In Short

Nigeria digital lending is pulling back from unsecured instant loans. Lenders are shifting to borrowers with verifiable income and clearer repayment signals.

What Happened

Nigeria digital lending players are changing how they approve and structure credit after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, introduced its Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025.

These rules tighten what loan apps and online lenders can do during debt recovery. Debt recovery is the process of collecting overdue payments. In practice, it reduces the use of aggressive tactics that were common in parts of the market.

Executives told Nairametrics that lenders are now prioritising customers with established credit histories, predictable cash flows, and proof of income. That means fewer “nano loans”, very small, short-term loans often due in about 30 days.

Gbemi Adelekan, CEO of KwikPay Credit and President of the Money Lenders Association, said high default rates are pushing lenders away from unsecured nano lending. He said many lenders now prefer structured instalment loans with longer tenures, where repayment can be linked to a known source of income, including payroll deductions.

Another digital lender executive said the company is reducing exposure to unsecured lending because the worst outcome under current regulation may be blacklisting a borrower. Blacklisting can block access to future credit, but it does not recover lost funds.

Sycamore CEO Babatunde Akin Moses said the economics of nano lending are also getting harder. Lenders have to pay for origination, underwriting, monitoring, and collections, and still make a profit. Those costs can be similar whether a loan is small or large, which makes very small loans harder to sustain.

Why It Matters

For consumers, this could mean fewer instant loan approvals and more requests for documentation. For SMEs and salaried workers, it could increase access to longer-term credit, but with tighter checks.

For Nigeria’s fintech lenders, the shift signals a move toward lower-risk lending models, including business financing tied to transaction history and verifiable revenues. It also raises the bar for credit scoring, compliance, and operational efficiency in the digital credit market.