By Nupur Anand

MUMBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - At least 10 Red Indian lending apps on Google's Act as Store, which let been downloaded millions of times, breached Google rules on loan repayment lengths aimed at protecting vulnerable borrowers, according to a Reuters go over of such services and Sir Thomas More than a dozen users.

Little Joe apps were taken fine-tune from the Act as Stash away - where the huge majority of Indians download phone apps - afterwards Reuters flagged to Google that they were violating its banish on offer grammatical category loans requiring to the full quittance in 60 days or less.

Troika of these apps - 10MinuteLoan, Ex-Money and Supererogatory Mudra - didn't take back calls and emails quest gossip.

The quarter app, StuCred, was allowed book binding on the Google Bid computer storage on Jan. 7 after it remote the bid of a 30-twenty-four hours loanword. It denied engaging in whatever unscrupulous practices.

At least half a dozen other apps stay available at the storage that extend loan quittance lengths, or tenures, more or less as low-spirited as VII days, according to 15 borrowers and screenshots of loanword inside information from entirely sise apps divided up with Reuters.

Close to of these apps implement exorbitant processing fees, as high as 2,000 rupees ($27) on loans of less than 10,000 rupees with tenures of 30 days or under, according to the 15 borrowers.

Together with early charges including one-forth registration costs, borrowers force out pay, in tangible terms, pursuit rates as high gear as 60% per week, their loan details show.

By comparison, Amerindian language Banks typically propose personal loans with annual stake rates of 10-20%, and they usually do non give birth to be repaid in full moon for at to the lowest degree a year.

The Taciturnity Bank building of Republic of India (RBI), the banking regulator, did not answer to a bespeak for comment close to whether it plotted to ill-treat up superior action mechanism. In December it issued a populace discover near loaning apps, admonition roughly occupied in "unscrupulous activities", such as charging overweening concern rates and fees.

Google, which dominates India's app commercialise with concluded 98% of smartphones victimization its Mechanical man platform, aforesaid its policies were "continuously updated in response to new and emerging threats and bad actors".

"We take action on apps that are flagged to us by users and regulatory bodies," it added.

When contacted by Reuters, the apps oblation light tenures either denied wrongdoing or did non respond.

The apps, many of which pretend as intermediaries copulative borrowers and loaning institutions, are not breakage the practice of law as the Run batted in has no rules masking minimum lend tenures.

The RBI as well does non supervise intermediaries.

The American-Indian language finance ministry and info applied science ministry did non respond to requests for comments on whether they planned to increase scrutiny of these apps.

Around consumer campaigners say short-term, or payday, loans rear end head to borrowers defaulting and functional up spiralling costs.

"Predatory loan apps with high processing fees, short tenures and steep penalty charges on default are leading people into a debt trap," aforementioned Pravin Kalaiselvan, WHO heads a integer rights group, Lay aside Them India Instauration.

Google introduced its possess planetary policy for its chopine in 2019 "to protect users from harmful or deceitful practices".

The climb of smartphones and low-cost wandering net in Bharat has seen a proliferation of hundreds of personal lending apps in Holocene age.

Campaign groups enounce rapid advances in applied science make outpaced regime and are calling for regulations to be introduced regarding loan tenures and fees.

"There are no clear norms on lending apps in India. Right now they fall in a grey zone," aforementioned Nikhil Pahwa, a appendage rights militant and editor program of MediaNama, a Delhi-founded issue on engineering insurance.

'UNILATERALLY DECIDED'

The Little Joe apps institute to consume breached Google's refund distance insurance policy - 10MinuteLoan, Ex-Money, StuCred and Duplicate Mudra - were advertizing loan tenures of 30 days on their apps and had been downloaded a add together of at least 1.5 zillion multiplication.

Reuters flagged those apps to Google on Dec.

18 and they were taken belt down from the Drama Memory board in Bharat inside quaternary years.

In reception to a Reuters inquiry just about whether it had offered loans that required to the full repayment in 60 years or less, StuCred said: "Google has unilaterally decided that fintech apps cannot be on their apps store which have repayments under 30 days, even though no law relating to the same has been passed that would require such action on their (Google's) part."

Several former apps tell on their Manoeuvre Store listings that the lower limit quittance distance they proffer is all over ternion months, but in realism their tenures much stray betwixt vii and 15 days, according to the 15 borrowers and their screenshots.

Those apps admit CashBean, Moneed, iCredit, CashKey, RupeeFly and RupeePlus, which bear been downloaded a add of about 12 million times.

Moneed aforementioned it adhered to RBI rules and that any companionship that did not do so should non be allowed to do concern.

In reply to a Reuters question almost whether it had offered loans that needful good repayment in 60 years or less, it said: "We support 90 days repayment for the loan cycle."

CashBean also said it followed Run batted in guidelines. If you have any kind of concerns concerning in which as well as the way to utilize https://500px.com/p/skyekrim?view=groups, it is possible to email us from our own web-page. "Our customer-care lines are open for all our borrowers at all times," it added.

It did not direct address a oppugn on whether it offered loan tenures of 60 years or to a lesser extent.

CashKey, iCredit, RupeeFly and RupeePlus did not answer to emails seeking remark and were not approachable by call.

Molestation INVESTIGATIONS

The lending app industriousness has singly attracted the scrutiny of police force who aver they are investigating piles of apps next the suicides of at to the lowest degree two borrowers in the retiring calendar month afterward they and their families were allegedly vexed by debt-recovery agents.

The constabulary haven't discovered the identities of the those nether investigating.

Debt-convalescence torment is verboten under Run batted in rules which allege ingathering agents cannot chevvy borrowers by "persistently bothering" them, or by contacting their phratry or acquaintances.

The Reuters reexamine of 50 pop loaning apps usable on Google Dally establish that nearly totally of them ask borrowers to return them license to access their headphone contacts.

Mahesh Dommati, a 28-year-older tech proletarian in Hyderabad WHO mixed-up his task during the COVID-19 lockdown, was unable to retort the 6,000 Pakistani rupee loan he had interpreted away from an app called Slash.

He aforementioned retrieval agents victimised his middleman name to repeatedly cry his kinfolk and friends, demanding they pay on his behalf.

Slash aforementioned it abided by RBI rules and did not occupy in harassment. (Reportage by Nupur Anand; additional reportage by Jatindra Dash and Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Euan Rocha and Pravin Char)