The business of fake loan apps is now closed! Zee Business campaign Hafta Vasooli wins big

Operation Hafta Vasooli: Remember, about two years ago we started a campaign. This campaign was a campaign to liberate the common people from the clutches of fake loan apps. For this we had run Operation Week Recovery

Operation Hafta Vasooli: The date of 11th May has been recorded as a revolution in Fintech history. Google has made major and stringent changes in the developer policy for fintech companies lending on its Playstore. Under the new rules, now any personal loan lending app will have to comply with additional conditions of verification. The app will have to submit the details of the NBFC or bank associated with it and a certified copy of the agreement signed with them for granting loans. Such apps will not be allowed on the Play Store without Google's verification.

What was the campaign of Zee Business?

All this has become possible after the campaign of Zee Business. Remember, about two years ago we started a campaign. This campaign was a campaign to liberate the common people from the clutches of fake loan apps. For this we had run Operation Hafta Vasooli. Our team, through its sting, exposed the gangs of torturing people in the name of instant loans. Our campaign had a big impact. The matter resonated in Parliament three times, RBI issued draft guidelines, raids took place in the country and many arrests were also made. Despite this, we did not sit silent.

Campaign got a new mission: Connected FACE

We converted our campaign into a new mission and now our mission was to question such playstores where apps find easy refuge. Two such playstores are most popular in the country, first Google Play Store and second Apple App Store. We investigated, raised questions in all our shows, did sting operations and continued with investigative journalism. Meanwhile, along with the general public, the largest association of fintech companies i.e. FACE was also associated with our campaign. FACE announced that all the fintech companies associated with it will start the work of identifying such fake apps on their own and will reach the RBI, government as well as platforms like Google.

Another win: Google will change developer policy

As a result, around 600 such suspicious apps have been removed from the Play Store since the launch of Zee Business. This was a big success for us in favor of the general public but we did not sit silent. We went to the bottom and now gave the campaign the shape of a question. The question was that after all, how do such recovery apps made with the intention of robbing the common people find a place in the Play Stores? We asked when will the attack on digital dacoits finally happen. This question-like campaign of ours has again paid off. Google announced a major change in its developer policy regarding personal loan apps after the Fintech Association announced that it can identify fake apps by sharing data with each other.