Google Cracks Down on Rip-off Lending Apps With New Play Store Update

The new Play Store update sees apps offering “deceptive or harmful” personal loans removed, while compliant apps remain untouched. Removed apps include those that charge an annual interest rate in excess of 36% in the United States—which is commonplace with many short term loan companies. Beyond this, the latest update to Google’s policy document also outlines several other requirements that lending apps must meet to remain on the Play Store. These include clearly stating the minimum and maximum loan payment period, as well as the maximum Annual Percentage Rate (APR) that is calculated consistently with local law. Lastly, all lending apps are required to provide a fully worked example loan, showing the total cost of the loan including all applicable fees. According to a spokesperson for the company, the move was first announced back in August, and is designed to protect Google Play customers from exploitative terms. As it stands, Apple doesn’t appear to implement a similar policy, but does routinely adjust its App Store Review Guidelines to ensure that users are protected against new and emerging issues. As can be expected, affected lending app owners are not happy with Google’s recent decision. The new move will force these lenders to either accept a lower interest rate to remain compliant with the new terms or abandon operations on the Google Play store altogether. Google’s recent change will mostly affect online-only lenders, which commonly use apps to acquire and manage new customers. However, since the great majority of these companies are actually legally-compliant, it begs the question of whether Google is actually stepping on the toes of the lawmakers, rather than simply doing what it can to protect its users. This isn’t the first time Google has moved against these predatory payday loan companies. Back in 2016, Google became the first search engine to ban adverts from companies offering dubious financial products with repayment terms under 60 days. In addition, US loan companies charging in excess of 36% APR were also blacklisted from Google ads. Recently, Google took down a Hong Kong protest-related application from its Play Store, citing policy violation as its reasoning, as BeInCrypto has previously reported. What do you think about Google’s move against short-term loan companies? Is it overstepping its bounds? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!