Home Affairs urges micro-lenders not to confiscate identity documents of borrowers
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security has warned micro-lenders not to retain or confiscate the identity documents of their borrowers.
Having noticed the trend, the ministry stated that this is prohibited conduct in terms of Section 23 of the Micro-lending Act, No. 7 of 2018.
“The Act stipulates that a micro-lender may not as security or for collection arrangement purposes keep in possession, or make use of any bank cards or personal information such as PIN codes or original identification document, original passports or original driver’s licenses of the borrower,” they explained.
The ministry urged micro-lenders to refrain from this practice as it contributes to duplicate applications of national documents. “We urge the public to report such conduct by micro-lenders to the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) or come to us,” they added.
