Google To Ban Some Loan Apps From Its Play Store

Google has just prohibited predatory personal loan service on its Play Store. This new change is detailed on the company’s policy page on restricted content. So now, the high-interest loan services are no longer allowed on the site, including title loans, payday loan apps, and the like.

Users can find several financial apps on the Play Store, which are offered by banks and other third-party companies for managing money, investing, budgeting, and the similar. Apps for student loans, car loans, revolving credit, and mortgages are still allowed to be listed.

The company said that all apps offering services of personal loans must provide the information on the repayment's maximum and minimum period, APR (short for Maximum Annual Percentage Rate) according to the laws, and an example of a total amount of what users must pay in a year, with all the applicable fees included.

Loan apps for personal need that requires 36% or higher ARP are now banned by Google. It also compelled these services to make the loan APRs, maximum, minimum repayment period, and examples of a loan’s total cost, public.

Apps for personal loans that require users to repay in full within 60 days, some people may call them payday or short-term loans, are also prohibited. This new restriction covers a wide range of apps, even ones that only have links to third-party lenders who offer these services.

These apps are the latest to be on the list of Google’s restricted content. The tech giant has already blocked several types of financial apps before, including ones allowing users to trade binary options or mine cryptocurrency.

Some gambling apps are also banned on the Play Store along with those for financial purposes, especially ones with illegal activities.