Google has announced that it will ban certain payday lending apps from the Play Store as part of a crackdown on what it says are harmful practices.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is banning apps from the Play Store that offer what the company calls “deceptive or harmful” loans with annual percentage rates (APRs) of 36% and above.
The new, broader financial policy went into effect in August, and Google says it is already helping protect users against “exploitative” rates.
Protect
The new rules only apply to the United States for now, in order to comply with the recently passed Truth in Lending Act. This ensures that apps for personal loans must display their maximum APR – including both platforms that offer loans directly and those that connect consumers with third-party lenders.
“Our Google Play development policies are designed to protect users and keep them safe,” a Google spokesperson told the WSJ. “We have broadened our financial services policy to protect people from deceptive and abusive personal loan terms.”
The move follows a similar action by Google in 2016, when it banned payday loan ads in its search browser, after saying they were “at the heart of livelihoods and well-being. people”.
Several US states have also sought to crack down on unfair payday loan rates, with California last week signing a law that applies a 36% APR on consumer loans between $ 2,500 and $ 10,000.
Via the Wall Street Journal
