GOVERNMENT ISSUES THE MUCH –NEEDED TIER 4 DIGITAL LENDING GUIDELINES TO ADDRESS PUBLIC OUTCRY AGAINST LENDING ENTITIES.
Government has issued Tier 4 Digital lending Guidelines in response to public outcry over mushrooming predatory mobile lending applications.
Members of the public have raised concerns over several internet-based lending apps preying on unsuspecting Ugandans. The concerns range from high interest rates, lack of physical address by these digital lenders, violation of data privacy, confidentiality issues, among others.
Now, the issued guidelines are addressing most of these concerns. The guidelines were issued by Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority through Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development.
The Digital Lending guidelines were drafted and approved after thorough consultative engagements with key stakeholders.
The key stakeholders included Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Ministry of Information and National Guidance, NITA, Bank of Uganda, National Payment Systems, NIRA, Uganda Communications commission, and Digital lending service providers among others.
The overall objective of these digital lending guidelines is to streamline the operations of digital lenders to safeguards consumers against predatory lenders. We therefore encourage the general public to avoid borrowing from unlicensed lending app-based entities. The digital lending guidelines are now available on our website www.umra.go.ug.