The Federal Competitors and Shopper Safety Fee (FCCPC) has debunked widespread stories claiming that airtime borrowing and information advance companies have been banned in Nigeria, describing the claims as false and deceptive.
In a press release on Friday, the Fee mentioned its consideration was drawn to newspaper publications and viral social media posts suggesting that it had cancelled or shut down airtime borrowing and information advance companies nationwide.
The FCCPC clarified that such claims are incorrect, stressing that it has not prohibited airtime borrowing or information advance companies, nor issued any directive stopping shoppers from accessing lawful telecom value-added companies.
The Fee defined that following quite a few shopper complaints about opaque fees, unexplained deductions, aggressive restoration practices, poor disclosure requirements, and insufficient accountability in components of the digital lending and advance-services market, it launched the DEON Shopper Lending Rules in July 2025.
In line with the FCCPC, the laws had been designed to curb abusive practices by service suppliers that had induced repeated shopper hurt and weakened confidence available in the market.
It said that the framework goals to advertise equity and transparency by requiring correct registration, accountable lending conduct, clear disclosure of charges and phrases, accessible grievance channels, information safety safeguards, stronger accountability for third-party companions, and efficient regulatory oversight.
The Fee added that investigations within the telecom sector revealed that some operators engaged in exclusionary third-party technical preparations that violated provisions of the Federal Competitors and Shopper Safety Act.
It famous that affected operators had been initially granted a 90-day compliance window when the framework started in July 2025 to regularise their companies.
The deadline was later prolonged to January 5, 2026, however some operators failed to finish the required compliance steps.
The FCCPC mentioned any short-term suspension or restriction launched by service suppliers needs to be seen as a enterprise or compliance determination by the operators themselves, not a ban imposed by the Fee.
The company warned that makes an attempt to misrepresent short-term service disruptions as regulatory bans are deceptive, urging Nigerians to ignore false info and depend on verified sources.