Online loan scams to end as google announces new policy for Pakistan

Google has announced a new personal loan application policy in an effort to safeguard Pakistani consumers against phoney and unregistered loan applications.

The Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) lender is only allowed to publish a single Digital Lending App (DLA) under the new rules, which take effect on May 31, 2023. Anyone who tries to publish more than one DLA will have their developer account and all related accounts deleted.

Before releasing their app, developers of personal loan apps with users in Pakistan must fill out the Personal Loan App Declaration form and submit the required paperwork. For them to provide or enable digital lending services in Pakistan, they must provide documentation of authorisation from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

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Additionally, Google Play will ask for more details or documentation proving that the lending app complies with all necessary legal and licencing criteria.

The Play Store will remove any personal loan apps functioning in Pakistan without the required disclosure and licence attribution. If the filed licence, registration, or declaration is no longer legal under the relevant legislation, the developers must remove the programme from the Google Play Store right away.

Google’s Director for Pakistan, Farhan S. Qureshi, stated:

Google is taking preventative measures by setting stringent requirements for Digital Lending Apps in order to reduce financial risk and ensure data privacy. We strongly believe that the new requirements imposed on developers of personal loan apps will provide an extra layer of protection for the users.

A DLA is not permitted to access sensitive data, including external storage, media photos, contacts, and precise position, in accordance with the new set of regulations. While short-term personal loan apps that demand full repayment within 60 days of the loan’s issuance date are prohibited.

Also Read: CCP Issues Guidelines on How to Avoid Fraud When Using Loan Apps

Pakistan is one of a select few nations where Google has imposed more stringent DLA criteria. The new policy amendment represents a substantial advancement in protecting consumers from unfair business practises and preserving data privacy.