2,500 loan lending apps removed from Google Play Store 

Google has updated its policy regarding enforcement of loan lending apps on the Play Store and has also deployed additional policy requirements with strict enforcement actions for lending apps in India.

As per their revised policy, only those apps are allowed on the Play Store which are published by Regulated Entities (REs) or those working in partnership with REs.

The government on Monday informed Parliament that Google has suspended or removed over 2,500 fraudulent loan apps from its Play Store between April 2021 and July 2022.

The government is constantly engaged with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other regulators and stakeholders concerned to control fraudulent loan apps, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), an inter-regulatory forum under the chairpersonship of the Finance Minister, discusses these matters regularly, with the objective to remain proactive, maintain cyber security preparedness with constant vigilance, and take appropriate and timely action to mitigate any such vulnerabilities in the Indian financial system.

As part of steps taken to control fraudulent loan apps, she said, the RBI has shared a ‘whitelist’ of legal apps with the government of India, and this list was shared by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) with Google, whose app store is the primary source of distribution of digital lending apps.

The internet is filled with dangerous SpyLoan apps that pretend to loan users money with evil intentions. Researchers at cybersecurity firm ESET have discovered that several fraudulent instant loan apps are targeting Android users in India as well as other countries. 

The company has identified 18 SpyLoan apps and reported them to Google. The tech giant has already removed 17 of these apps from Play Store. 

However, these apps have amassed a total of more than 12 million downloads worldwide from Google Play before they were removed.

Researchers have recently observed an “alarming growth” in deceptive Android loan apps. These apps present themselves as legitimate personal loan services and promise quick as well as easy access to funds.

Despite their lucrative appearance, these services are designed to trap users by offering them loans at high-interest-rates and are endorsed with deceitful descriptions.

For those who are looking for loans, can avail them under PMMY, collateral-free institutional credit up to Rs 10 lakh is provided by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs).