E-Financial
FCCPC Bars Digital Loan Firm from Forcing Services on Residents
Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has barred Peachville Platinum Facility Management (PPF
M) Limited from forcing its services on members of the Peachville Estate Residents Association (PERA), Abuja.
The agency ordered PPFM to “cease and desist from enforcing any clause that compels residents or allottees to subscribe to PPFM’s services as a condition for property ownership or occupancy”.
FCCPC further directed the company to “desist from any acts of coercion or service disconnection arising from residents’ refusal to engage PPFM’s services.”
It ordered PPFM to “immediately provide PERA and all affected residents with a clear statement of all service charges levied from August 2024 to date, with an explanation of the basis and justification for each.”
The company is also directed to “acknowledge PERA as the representative body of the Peachville Estate community for all matters of collective interest, consistent with Nigerian law,” and to “take necessary steps to amend its service engagement model to comply with the provisions of the FCCPA, 2018.”
The company and its executive director and/or affiliates “shall comply with this order within seven business days of receiving this notice,” FCCPC ordered.
“Take Notice that if the Executive Director, Peachvillc Platinum Limited of Plot 844 Jabi — Airport Road, Dakibiyu District, Abuja and/or affiliates fail to comply with this Notice, the Commission shall have recourse to Section 150 (4) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018,” the agency added.
A copy of the FCCPC Compliance Notice, addressed to the PPFM Executive Director, was obtained yesterday.
It was signed by Chizenum Nsitem, head of Legal Services, and dated August 12, 2025.
FCCPC acted on a consumer complaint from PERA against PPFM regarding allegations of “coercive and anticompetitive imposition of PPFM as a mandatory facility manager, unjustified service charges, and failure to deliver satisfactory services, including power, water, security, and internet access”.
The agency stated that the complaint was received on August 8, 2024, following which it engaged both parties in mediation and correspondence between August 2024 and February 2025.
FCCPC said: “PPFM gave assurances to address the deficiencies identified by residents but failed to fully resolve the substantive issues, especially those concerning forced service tie-ins, accountability, and residents’ freedom of choice.
“Between March and May 2025, the Commission received repeated complaints from PERA detailing PPFM’s continued enforcement of a service regime alleged to violate competition law principles and consumer rights.
“Despite further inquiries and an official request issued in April 2025 for clarifications on service charges and PERA’s legal status, PPFM failed to provide any justification for the price increases, denied PERA’s authority and reportedly resorted to coercive tactics, including disconnection threats, against dissenting residents.
“The Commission considers this conduct a direct violation of Section 59 of the FCCPA 2018, which prohibits restrictive and anti-competitive agreements.
“The requirement that residents must accept PPFM’s services as a precondition for property acquisition constitutes a ‘tying arrangement,’ which is specifically disallowed under the Act.
“Furthermore, the Commission found that the continued imposition of nonnegotiable service terms, opaque billing, and lack of performance monitoring amounted to unfair, unreasonable, and unjust contract terms, contrary to Sections 127-129 of the FCCPA 2018.
“PPFM’s attempt to deny PERA’s legal standing was also found to be unsubstantiated.
“The Commission notes that PERA is duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, and in line with the Supreme Court’s decision in Famakinwa v. Oloja Estate Residents Association [20161 LPELR-41066 (SC), a residents’ association may lawfully represent all residents in a community, regardless of individual membership.
“By the provisions of Section 155 of the FCCPA 2018, ‘except where otherwise provided for in this Act, any person who contravenes any consumer right commits an offence and in the case of a natural person, liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to payment of fine not exceeding N10,000,000.00 or to both the fine and imprisonment; in the case of a body corporate, is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N100,000,000.00 or 10 per cent of its turnover in the preceding business year, whichever is higher; and in the case of a body corporate, each director of the body corporate is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to payment of fine not exceeding N10,000,000.00 or to both the fine and imprisonment.”
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced the implementation of a fully electronic registration system for capital market operators, marking a major milestone in its digital transformation drive aimed at improving regulatory efficiency, reducing processing time and strengthening oversight of Nigeria’s capital market.
The new electronic registration (e-Registration) platform, deployed through the Commission’s ePortal, allows designated regulatory services to be completed entirely online, eliminating manual processes for services covered in the current phase.
The initiative comes as the SEC intensifies reforms to modernise the Nigerian capital market, enhance the ease of doing business and leverage technology to improve service delivery to market participants.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Commission said Capital Market Operators (CMOs) can now complete designated post-registration processes electronically, from application submission and regulatory review to approvals and the communication of regulatory decisions.
According to the regulator, the platform is designed to simplify interactions between operators and the Commission, reduce administrative bottlenecks, shorten processing timelines and give applicants real-time visibility into the status of their applications.
The SEC said the transition to a fully digital registration process would also improve operational efficiency by introducing standardised workflows, electronic documentation, secure digital record management and stronger audit trails, while enhancing regulatory oversight.
“The new platform represents a major step towards creating a seamless digital regulatory ecosystem that enhances operational efficiency while strengthening regulatory effectiveness,” the Commission stated.
Beyond improving efficiency, the regulator said the platform would reinforce the integrity of regulatory processes by minimising delays associated with paper-based documentation and improving the quality of regulatory data used for supervision and decision-making.
It added that the digital system would provide a stronger foundation for regulatory analytics and future technology-driven innovations aimed at enhancing market oversight.
The Commission explained that the implementation is being rolled out in phases to ensure a smooth transition for market participants while safeguarding the stability and integrity of regulatory processes.
For now, the e-Registration platform is limited to post-registration services for existing Capital Market Operators.
entrants seeking registration in the Nigerian capital market are not yet covered under the current phase, adding that electronic processing for new registrations will be introduced at a later date.
The Commission urged all licensed operators to familiarise themselves with the new platform and comply with implementation timelines to ensure a seamless migration to the digital system.
The latest move forms part of the SEC’s broader reform agenda to modernise market infrastructure, improve transparency and strengthen investor confidence as Nigeria seeks to deepen its capital market and enhance its competitiveness in the global financial system.
Market observers believe the digital registration initiative is expected to reduce compliance costs, improve regulatory turnaround time and support a more efficient operating environment for licensed operators, while reinforcing the Commission’s push towards a technology-driven capital market ecosystem.
Elon Musk’s social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, launched its own bank account-like product where users can send money to one another.
The service, known as X Money, is not a new bank.
X Money is using technology and banking services provided by Cross River Bank, and branding that backbone as X Money.
It is common for new financial companies to use a traditional bank’s backbone to launch its services, as chartering a new bank is a timely and costly process.
Currently X Money is invite only, and users will receive a “X”-branded Visa debit card that is useable at any ATM.
Users of X will be able to send money to other X users in real-time, the company said. Invitations are only available to X’s paying members presently
In order to attract customers, X Money is offering a 6% yield on deposits and 3% cashback on eligible purchases.
In order to earn the 6% yield, a customer would need to deposit at least $1,000 into an account.
Customers would also have to be signed up for X’s premium services, which is at least $8 a month. It would require at least a deposit of $1,600 in order to cover X’s premium services cost.
Musk has long talked about turning X into an “everything app” that would include financial services.
Musk has his origins in financial services, creating one of the first online banks under the brand X.com. That company was later bought and merged into what is now known as PayPal.
It’s still early for X Money, but the company is entering into a competitive market, dominated by PayPal’s Venmo money transfer service and other peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle and Cash App.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed N430 million in penalties on financial institutions in 2025 over delays in resolving customer complaints and failure to comply with its directives, underscoring a tougher regulatory stance on consumer protection in the banking sector.
The sanctions were disclosed in the apex bank’s 2025 Annual Report, which showed that 21 penalties worth N430 million were imposed on financial institutions during the review period for infractions linked to complaints management.
According to Nairametrics, the report stated that the affected institutions were sanctioned for “delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The report read, “the Bank imposed 21 penalties on financial institutions to the tune of N430.00 million, for infractions ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The latest enforcement action comes as the CBN recorded a rise in the number of complaints lodged by users of financial services, suggesting greater reliance on the regulator’s consumer protection framework.
According to the report, the CBN received 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, representing a 10.53% increase from the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024.
The apex bank attributed the increase to growing public awareness and stronger confidence in its complaint resolution process rather than a deterioration in banking services.
The report stated, “The Bank received a total of 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, a rise of 10.53%, above the 20,925 in 2024. The trend reflected increased awareness and improved confidence in the Bank’s consumer complaint resolution process.”
It added that 18,824 complaints were successfully resolved during the year, representing a 9.36% increase from the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.
The report also showed a sharp increase in the value of claims handled by the regulator.
Claims denominated in local currency rose to N40.61 billion in 2025 from N17.13 billion a year earlier, while foreign currency claims climbed to $344.2 million from $1.06 million.
consumers recovered N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, compared with N9.66 billion and $0.67 million refunded in 2024.
Beyond the N430 million sanctions relating to customer complaints, the CBN disclosed that it imposed another 11 penalties worth N1.26 billion on financial institutions for regulatory breaches and failure to respond to regulatory queries.
The report indicates that complaints management formed part of a wider overhaul of the CBN’s supervisory and market conduct framework in 2025.
In 2022, the CBN issued a guide on how aggrieved customers can complain about financial institutions such as commercial banks.
The regulator established a dedicated Compliance Department to strengthen oversight of financial crime, market conduct, complaints management, advertising standards, cybersecurity, data protection and corporate governance across CBN-regulated institutions.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor, CBN, recently said that the CBN and deposit money banks are reviewing excessive transaction alerts and customer charges amid complaints from bank users over confusing debit notifications and deductions.
Cardoso said the apex bank had set up a quarterly engagement structure involving its consumer protection team, deposit money banks and the top 10 microfinance banks to address unresolved customer complaints.
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