The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has indicated that it will continue to clamp down on illegal lending apps, used to threaten people who default in paying back loans.

According to the central bank, it is a crime to threaten loan defaulters with publication of pictures and confidential data.

In recent times, there has been a growing trend of the act which has unfortunately forced some defaulters to commit suicide.

Speaking at the MTN Ghan mobile money @15 Fintech Stakeholders' Forum, the Director of Fintech at the BoG, Kwame Oppong, cautioned that the central bank will not allow unauthorised products to destabilise the financial sector.

“Nothing should be introduced in this country that causes instability in the financial sector and somehow put the integrity of the economy at risk. Secondly, nothing should come into the country that somehow jeopardizes the livelihoods of individuals and businesses.”

He stressed that it is unthinkable to threaten people because they have defaulted in paying back loans.

“Those illegal lending apps who threaten borrowers by putting their pictures online, just because people need something little to get by? By the time they realize, their pictures are extracted and shared across their contact list.”

“How is this a way of making living by putting people on suicide watch by threatening to announce to the world that they owe you?” He quizzed.

Advising the public to be careful in financial transactions online, Mr. Oppong said the central bank is working with the relevant security agencies to arrest such culprits.

 “This is why the Bank of Ghana in partnership with Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the security agencies conducted a raid over 200 people, among them foreigners,” he recalled.

At the same event, the Chief Executive of Mobile Money Limited Shaibu Haruna, noted that MTN will continue to implement safety tools and deepen education on mobile money fraud to improve trust among customers. 

The MTN mobile money @ 15 Fintech Stakeholders' Forum was held on the theme, "Building trust and cooperation among stakeholders; How to maximize the impact of emerging technologies for the promotion of financial inclusion".

The event brought together stakeholders in the financial technology space to deliberate on the impact of emerging technology on the financial sector, as well as ways to strengthen regulation to deepen trust among users and stakeholders.