Google cracks down on personal loan apps in India with stricter guidelines

Google is cracking down on personal loan apps by introducing stricter guidelines in India and Indonesia. Developers will be required to comply with the new guidelines by September 15, 2021, and will have to meet the new eligibility criteria to remain on the Play Store. Earlier this year, Google removed loan apps on PlayStore that did not comply with local laws and regulations. Now, the tech giant has introduced stricter criteria for these developers that require apps to complete a Personal Loan App Declaration for India.

They will also be required to provide the necessary documentation to back the declaration for review from Google. Google notes that the apps that are not directly engaged in money lending activities and are only providing a platform to facilitate money lending by registered Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) or banks to users will have to reflect this information accurately in their declaration.

Google in its blog post defined personal loans as “lending money from one individual, organization, or entity to an individual consumer on a nonrecurring basis, not for the purpose of financing purchase of a fixed asset or education.” It further noted that the personal loan consumers require information about the quality, features, fees, repayment schedule, risks, and benefits of loan products in order to make informed decisions about whether to undertake the loan.

Google noted that it does not allow apps that promote personal loans which require repayment in full in 60 days or less from the date the loan is issued -- what Google refers to as short-term personal loans. Google has separately announced additional details for the new safety section it is set to introduce in Google Play. The new safety section will give developers a simple way to showcase their app’s overall safety. “Developers will be able to give users deeper insight into their privacy and security practices, as well as explain the data the app may collect and why — all before users install the app,” the blog post noted.