India’s Ministry of IT has lifted the ban on seven high-profile credit apps, including PayU’s LazyPay, Kissht, KreditBee and Indiabulls Home Loans, according to a person familiar with the matter. past quarters.
On Friday, the IT Department also lifted the ban on MPokket, BuddyLoan and Faircent, according to a copy of the order businessupdates.org saw. The ban was lifted after the companies justified not having Chinese investors on their cap tables, the person said.
India has been pushing for a ban on more than 90 lending apps in recent weeks to protect the country’s integrity and curb China’s influence in the South Asian market, state broadcaster Prasar Bharati said.
The IT ministry is concerned about the past and present presence of Chinese investors on the cap tables of some lending apps in India, the officials said, businessupdates.org reported earlier this week.
Another concern is the increasing reports of cybercrime related to China. The officials said the Interior Ministry has received reports of criminal activity involving Chinese companies bugging APIs to access Indian loan apps and obtain and store data from Indian consumers outside the country, businessupdates.org reported. earlier.
In a statement, Kissht confirmed that the ban on its website and app had been lifted. “We thank the Government of India and MeitY for withdrawing the order to block Kissht,” a Kissht spokesperson said in a statement.
“The government has shown continued support to ensure that credible 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 millions more in the years to come. Kissht continues to provide seamless credit with the goal of doubling our customer base by 2023.”
