One month after an investigation found unlicensed loan apps reaching Ghanaians through social media advertising, the Bank of Ghana has publicly flagged four of the operators identified in the investigation.
In a public notice dated 3 August, the central bank listed the applications and warned the public against engaging with them, saying their operations constituted violations of customer data privacy, consumer protection and established regulatory standards.
The list includes Agyapacredit, Gh Loans, Hasty Credit and Sika Loan, among other applications.
The development follows an investigation published under the Tech Justice and Platform Accountability Project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), with support from Luminate, which examined how unlicensed loan applications were using sponsored advertisements on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to reach borrowers in Ghana.
The investigation found that several of the applications were being promoted through advertisements promising quick loans, “no collateral” and rapid approval, despite the Bank of Ghana confirming through a Right to Information request that the applications examined were not licensed to operate in Ghana.
Bank issues fresh warning
In its latest notice, the Bank of Ghana said it had observed the continued operation of entities providing digital loans to the public through digital channels without the requisite licence or authorisation.
The regulator said such activities were conducted in contravention of its directive for Digital Credit Service Providers in Ghana and other relevant laws.
It listed 20 mobile loan applications that it said were operating without the required licence or authorisation.
The Bank also advised the public not to engage with unlicensed loan providers and cautioned banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions and Payment Service Providers against facilitating or processing transactions on behalf of such operators.
It said it would continue working with relevant state institutions to identify, investigate and take appropriate enforcement action against entities operating to safeguard consumers and ensure the integrity and stability of Ghana’s financial sector.
The Bank’s action comes after the investigation documented the experiences of borrowers who said they were drawn to digital loan applications through online advertisements before encountering aggressive collection tactics.
Data privacy concerns
The investigation also examined the data permissions demanded by some of the applications, including access to contacts, SMS messages, call logs, location information and stored files.
Dr Arnold Kavaarpuo, Executive Director of Ghana’s Data Protection Commission, said loan applications could not lawfully use personal information collected from borrowers to intimidate them.
“Loan apps cannot threaten to use personal data for intimidation; that is illegal,” he said.
He explained that under the principle of purpose limitation, data collected for one purpose could not simply be repurposed to harass or coerce a borrower.
The investigation also found a public Facebook group with more than 50,000 members where borrowers shared experiences of debt, harassment and difficulties repaying digital loans.
One anonymous participant described sleepless nights after borrowing from one loan application to repay another.
Platforms under scrutiny
The investigation found that sponsored advertisements for at least six of the applications continued to appear on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube during a three-week monitoring period.
When contacted for the investigation, Meta said it had strict policies governing financial advertisements and had removed advertisements associated with some of the identified pages for violating its rules.
Independent checks conducted during the reporting period, however, continued to identify similar loan advertisements.
Google did not respond to detailed questions about specific advertisements identified during the investigation.
The findings prompted questions about whether global technology platforms have sufficient mechanisms to verify the licensing status of financial advertisers in Ghana before allowing them to reach consumers.
Emmanuel Nii Foli Creppy, an AI governance consultant, said the problem reflected a wider gap between national regulatory systems and global digital advertising infrastructure.
He argued that regulators such as the Bank of Ghana and major technology platforms need mechanisms that allow licensing information to be verified in real time.
Follow-up monitoring
The Bank of Ghana’s August 3 notice provides a new public reference point for consumers seeking to distinguish licensed digital lenders from unlicensed operators.
The regulator has also urged members of the public who become aware of the activities of unlicensed loan providers to report them to the Bank.
The latest notice follows the publication of the investigation and subsequent engagement with the Bank over the licensing status of digital loan applications examined during the reporting.
The investigation will now continue to monitor whether the applications identified by the Bank disappear from digital advertising platforms and whether further regulatory or enforcement action is taken against their operators.
For borrowers who rely on digital credit during emergencies, the central issue remains whether regulatory warnings can translate into effective protection at the point where consumers encounter these lenders, often through a sponsored advertisement on their phones.
This article was published under the Tech Justice and Platform Accountability Project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), with support from Luminate.
