ISLAMABAD: Pakistan had persuaded Google and Apple successfully to remove 120 illegal personal loan apps from their respective stores, which were tricking Pakistani people into loan traps, said an official statement on Wednesday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said that the SECP had coordinated with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to ensure that Google and Apple removed the apps to safeguard the public from falling into debt traps, reported Xinhua.
“The phenomenon of illegal personal loan apps has surfaced recently, raising serious concerns about wrong-selling, data privacy violations, and coercive recovery practices,” said the SECP, adding that it has not only tightened its regulatory framework but also initiated practical steps with the relevant authorities against such practices.
Pakistani government started actions against the online loan apps after an unemployed father of two children committed suicide in the country’s Rawalpindi city in July this year after he failed to bear the pressure of the loaning apps to return around one million rupees he borrowed from them.
The SECP has also asked Google and Apple to allow only those apps at their stores to download in Pakistan after approval from the competent Pakistani authorities.
Last week, the SECP introduced new rules to regulate online apps by limiting the loan amount to 25,000 rupees from a single app and total borrowings to 75,000 rupees from multiple apps for a maximum period of 90 days. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
