“Approach local police if…” RBI clears stance against unregistered digital lending platforms

New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, on Wednesday (June 8), urged customers to approach local police if they have taken loans from unregistered digital lending apps and are facing any issue. He also made it clear that the RBI will only act in cases against entities registered with the central bank. He also highlighted that most of the digital lending apps are not registered with the central bank and operate by themselves. His remarks have come in the wake of a spate of alleged suicides abetted by harassment by agents or officials of lending apps, most of which are not registered with the RBI. 

The RBI Governor said that whenever the central bank receives a complaint from any customer, it directs customers of such unregistered apps to approach the local police. He said that the police will conduct an investigation and take necessary action on the issue, adding that the police have already acted against the wrongdoers as per the provisions of the law.

He also noted that the official RBI website has the list of apps that are registered with the central bank. Borrowers can visit the portal to ensure that they take loans from lenders registered with the central bank. 

"It's my humble request to all those using such apps to first check if the app is RBI registered or not. If the app is RBI registered, the central bank will act immediately in case of any misdoing, I assure you," Das said in the customary post-policy press interaction.

The RBI governor also told customers on how they can remain safe from financial frauds involving SMSes or calls in the name of banks. He requested borrowers to not share personal details like one time passwords or CVV numbers with any such agents who can misuse the same for fraudulent activities. Also Read: Sensex drops 215 points, Nifty down by 60 in volatile trade post RBI policy

If a customer wants, she or he can check with their bank branch to ascertain the veracity before proceeding ahead, he added. Also Read: Oppo launches Oppo K10 5G with 8GB RAM: Price, features, specs, introductory offers

– With PTI inputs.