Google Delisted 2,500 Fraudulent Digital Lending Apps: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday (December 18) informed the Parliament that tech giant Google delisted more than 2,500 fraudulent digital lending apps from Play Store between April 2021 and July 2022.

Responding to a question from Gana Suraksha Party MP Naba Kumar Sarania, Sitharaman said that the platform also reviewed around 3,500 to 4,000 digital lending apps during the same period. 

“Between April 2021 and July 2022, Google also reviewed approximately 3,500 to 4,000 loan lending apps and suspended or removed over 2500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store,” said the minister. 

Among other steps taken to crack the whip on illegal digital lending apps, the FM also reiterated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has shared a ‘whitelist’ of legal apps with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This list, in turn, has been sent to Google to delist illegitimate apps from its app marketplace. 

Meanwhile, the Centre also informed the Parliament that the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) proactively analyse digital lending apps on various parameters to block suspicious apps. 

The comments come weeks after reports surfaced that the Centre was mulling a regulatory framework that would prohibit digital lending by unauthorised entities. Meanwhile, the proactive approach has largely been led by an uptick in deaths by suicide of individuals after harrasment from digital loan sharks. 

While these apps are easily accessible, many such platforms use unethical practices to recover money and charge exorbitant rates of interest. With steps such as formulating digital lending guidelines and gatekeeping, authorities have been looking to crack the whip on the proliferation of illegal online lending platforms and safeguard customers from the rising menace. 

While the policies have yielded some results, reports continue to pour in of tragic incidents involving digital lending apps. Last month, a Kozhikode housewife attempted suicide after being threatened by online loan operators. 

Despite the spurt in negative news surrounding the space, digital lending continues to be an attractive proposition with a bevy of regulated and legitimate players such as Google Pay, KreditBee, Dhani, Navi, among others.

As per Inc42, the Indian digital consumer lending market is projected to grow to an addressable market size of $720 Bn by 2030 led by favourable socioeconomic factors and timely regulatory measures.