After India, Google purges hundreds of loan apps in Africa

SAN FRANCISCO: Google has removed hundreds of loan apps from its Play Store in Kenya since the implementation of its new policy requiring digital lenders in the East African country to present proof of license, which went into effect in January.

The policy came into force last year under Kenya's Digital Credit Providers (DCP) regulations, which required entities providing loans digitally to obtain a license to operate from the Central Bank of Kenya, reports TechCrunch.

While it is not clear how many loan apps were blacklisted, the report said that earlier around 500 apps in the finance category on the Play Store were removed.

In November last year, Google ordered loan apps in Kenya to present proof of their licenses to operate in the country, or they risk being removed from the Google Play store.

The move on Google's part was necessary to protect borrowers from rogue loan apps, many of which charge borrowers outrageous interest rates as well as operate against legal provisions.

Back in 2021, Google reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India and pulled down several of them found to be violating its app policies.

The company said it has asked the developers of the remaining identified apps to demonstrate that they comply with applicable local laws and regulations in India.