Nairametrics
The Nigerian fintech space is growing exponentially, attracting the attention of both foreign and local investors and drawing new entrants into the diverse sub-sectors within the ecosystem. A good number of them have struck gold offering uncollateralized loan facilities to Nigerians albeit at eye-popping interest rates. Of this cohort, it would appear as if some have met and agreed to come down hard on defaulters, resorting to unbelievably desperate measures to recover loan facilities obtained from their apps.
Findings made by Nairametrics show that a number of these loan app operators now send embarrassing short messages service (SMS) and WhatsApp messages to the close contacts of their loan defaulters with the intention of shaming the defaulters, tagging them with terms like ‘criminal,’ ‘fraudster,’ and ‘terrible debtor’ among others.
In some cases, the full names, phone numbers and pictures of the alleged loan defaulters are shared with their contacts like religious leaders, members of churches and mosques, close friends, bosses, colleagues and family members.
Victims recount their experiences
A paint manufacturer who introduced himself to Nairametrics as Adewunmi explained that he took a loan of N100,000 from one of the Fintech firms in Nigeria (Sokoloan) to deliver his products to a client. According to him, he defaulted for one week but had called the app’s staff four days before his repayment was due to explain that he would be unable to meet up with the repayment schedule on the said date.
To Adewunmi’s surprise, his Pastor called him three days after he had repaid the loan and requested to see him urgently on a Friday evening.
“He called me into his house asking me questions on why I obtained a loan from a company and refused to pay as at when due. I was blank for some minutes before I told him I had repaid the fintech firm,” Adewunmi narrated.
“That is not true,” the pastor responded. “A member of the church and the Head of Department of the Prayer Champions called me this evening that the bank sent the same message to them calling you a fraudster and a cheat,” he said
Adewumi recalls being flabbergasted at what his pastor narrated. “I showed him the proof of my payment and the response I got from the firm as an acknowledgement before he believed me. From that day, I made up my mind never to obtain a loan from any fintech firm again,” he stated painfully.
The SMS Sokoloan sent to Adewunmi’s contacts read:
“This is to inform the general public that Mr Adewunmi *** with telephone *** is a chronic debtor and a fraudster. He is on the run after duping a lending money company. You are advised to stay clear from him.”
Stella is another victim of the menace. In her case, she defaulted on a loan facility obtained from another fintech firm in Ibadan for one month in October 2020. According to the former staff of one of the local airlines in the country, she could not pay up because she lost her job a month before repayment was due.
“I had planned to refund the credit facility but when the unexpected happened, all my plans went south. I reached out to a designated staff of the loan app operator and pleaded for an extension of three months, to which the staff agreed.
“But I was shocked a week later when a friend I have not seen for five years called me, asking questions about my welfare and whether I was affected by the lockdown. I didn’t suspect anything until he told me he got a WhatsApp message from the fintech, alerting him to avoid doing business with me that I am a loan defaulter…
