India’s IT ministry has lifted a ban on seven popular lending apps including PayU’s LazyPay, Kissht, KreditBee and Indiabulls Home Loans, which, according to a person familiar with the matter, provided some relief to the industry. The fintech industry has been reeling from strict scrutiny in recent quarters.
On Friday, the IT Department also lifted the ban on MPokket, BuddyLoan and Faircent, according to a copy of the order seen by TechCrunch. The person said the ban was lifted after the companies justified that they did not have Chinese investors on their cap sheets.
India has push to ban more than 90 loan apps in recent weeks to protect the nation’s integrity and limit China’s influence in the South Asian market, state broadcaster Prasar Bharati said.
The IT ministry is concerned about the past and current presence of Chinese investors on the limited board of some loan applications in India, officials said, TechCrunch reported earlier this week.
Another concern is the increasing reports of cybercrime involving China. Officials say the Home Office has received reports of criminal activities involving Chinese companies that are exploiting APIs to access Indian lending applications and collect and store data. data of Indian consumers abroad, TechCrunch previously reported.
In a statement, Kissht confirmed that the ban on their website and apps has been lifted. “We thank the Government of India and MeitY for rescinding the order to block Kissht,” a Kissht spokesman said in a statement.
“The government has shown unwavering support in ensuring that trusted and fully compliant apps like Kissht continue to work towards greater financial inclusion in the country. We have served over 8 million Indians since 2017 and look forward to serving many more millions in the coming years. Kissht continues to offer easy credit with the goal of doubling our customer base by 2023.”
