After India, Google Launches Crackdown on Illegal Loan Apps in Africa
Google has set a deadline for January 2023 for loan apps to submit the required documents and information.
The tech giant has ordered loan apps in Kenya to submit licenses for operations or get banned on the Play Store.
After launching a crackdown on illegal loan apps in India, Google is looking to replicate the same in Kenya. The tech giant has ordered loan apps in Kenya to submit licenses for operations or get banned on the Play Store.
According to a TechCrunch report, it was essential for Google to shield consumers against fraudulent lending practices and debt-shaming techniques utilised by rogue applications.
“Developers with personal loan apps targeting Kenyan users must complete [a] declaration form and submit the necessary documentation before publishing their personal loan app … Personal loan apps operating in Kenya without proper declaration and license attribution will be removed from the Play Store,” said Google in a policy update.
Google has set a deadline for January 2023 for loan apps to submit the required documents and information, like it did in countries like India, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
TechCrunch’s report states, “The new law requires loan apps to also reveal their pricing model, terms and conditions to consumers in advance, unlike in the past when they were unsupervised.”
Google had also made the announcement in May that personal loan apps in India will have to satisfy the further eligibility evidence criteria, and as per IANS, “the eligibility includes a copy of their license by the RBI, and a declaration that they are not directly engaged in money lending activities and are only providing a platform to facilitate money lending by registered Non-Banking Financial Companies or banks to users.”
