FCCPC Approves Four New Firms for Airtime, Data Borrowing Services in Nigeria
By Aboki Forex —
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has approved four additional companies to provide airtime and data borrowing services in Nigeria. ERL Telecoms Service Limited and Fonyou Technologies are among the newly approved firms.
The commission also clarified that it has not banned the service, contrary to recent reports. This clarification came after Airtel and MTN suspended their airtime borrowing services.
According to the FCCPC approval status document titled 'FCCPC Airtime/Data Lenders Approval Status,' there are now nine companies cleared to operate nationwide. The full list includes Total Tim Nigeria Limited, Rane Interactive Medien, CLS Limited, Mode NG Applications Nigeria Limited, Cloud Interactive Associate Limited, Coverage Broadband Limited, ERL Telecoms Service Limited, Mrs Innovation Nigeria Limited, Fonyou Technologies Nigeria Limited, and Technotrends Platforms Nigeria Limited.
The approvals come as Nigerians face severe economic hardship and increasingly rely on borrowing to survive. The FCCPC denied reports of a ban in a statement on Friday, April 17. It said the claims were fake and originated from the July 2025 implementation of the DEON Consumer Lending Regulations. These regulations were designed to prevent exploitation of customers in digital lending and value-added services after receiving complaints about unfair charges, mysterious deductions, aggressive recovery methods, lack of transparency, and poor accounting procedures.
The FCCPC statement read: 'The attention of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has been drawn to a series of newspaper publications and a viral anonymous post on social media seeking to create the impression that the Commission cancelled, shut down, or banned airtime borrowing or data advance services in Nigeria. Those claims are incorrect. The Commission has not prohibited airtime borrowing or data advance services, and no directive was issued preventing consumers from accessing lawful telecom value-added services.'
In a related development, the Central Bank of Nigeria has released an exposure draft proposing a 30-member Mediation and Dispute Resolution Panel to enhance the financial ecosystem and improve financial intermediation.