India’s digital lenders take on Google Play Store over loan app crackdown

Digital lending companies and bodies representing fintech companies have approached Google over the new policies for publishers of loan apps after google removed over 500 lending apps from the play store. According to these money lenders, the rules have been applied unevenly with many Chinese-origin apps that don't go by the rules.

As per its Play Store policies, financial services apps that offer unsecured or secured personal loans are required to disclose key information in the app description on the store and at the time of submitting the app, “To help further ensure that users are making sound choices, we only allow personal loan apps with full repayment required in greater than or equal to 60 days from the date the loan is issued,” Google added.

Lenders fear that Google is acting as a super regulator, by asking for details that even the Reserve Bank Of India does not require and have wrote to Google seeking 'uniform regulations among fintech players'.