Google says that it pulled more than 2,000 personal loan apps from Play Store in India for what the company called “predatory practices.”
According to Saikat Mitra, Senior Director and Head of Trust and Safety at Google Asia-Pacific, the company has been working with regulators including the Reserve Bank of India to help crack down on apps pushing unethical practices. It also plans to make more changes to its policy to safeguard users against such apps that populate the Play Store.
Last year, Google implemented a similar move in India and demanded that lending apps must allow customers at least 60 days to make repayment.
The Reserve Bank of India recently increased vigilance over maligning applications, with an aim to end unethical behaviour by lending firms and fintech startups.
“We are in the process of some more policy changes that are going to come out in a matter of few weeks which will make it more explicit on requirements,” Mitra said.
In many markets, loan apps have been hailed for their role in opening up digital access to quick loans. However, they have also come under sharp criticism for undermining existing policies and regulations. In Kenya, digital lenders have been accused of being too nagging in their loan-recovery tactics.
The Google executive in India said that part of the policy changes will include loan apps prominently disclosing what people are signing up for, the rates, and other necessary checkpoints.
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