Zee Exclusive: borrow loan applications; know how to identify real fintech lenders | Personal finance news

In times of financial crisis, it’s the loans that give you the much-needed respite and help you get out of tough times.

Fintech lenders provide convenient access to credit to a diverse set of consumers, including new credit customers and other underserved sections. However, in a context of financial crisis and desperate time, borrowers must be mindful of identifying the legitimacy of lenders.

They may refer to touchpoints such as website, company policies, code of conduct, reviews, and digital asset complaint mechanisms to assess the authenticity of lenders. Here are the main factors to consider before borrowing from loan applications so that they can determine and identify true fintech lenders.

Transparency

Responsible lenders are transparent when it comes to dissipating necessary information regarding credit parameters such as interest rate and tenure, as well as the processes involved in accessing credit. A borrower should consider the digital lender’s adherence to the RBI guidelines, including the legitimacy of the supporting NBFC. In addition, care should be taken if the lender has disclosed all charges explicitly to the user in the application feed, and also categorically communicated to the users in the sanction letter with an appropriate break.

Adherence to Google Play Store standards

According to Google’s terms and conditions, applications from financial service providers must comply with state and local regulations in the region or country of operations. Additionally, any app listed as a Fintech Lending Platform should not have a minimum repayment term of less than 61 days.

Access to personal data

Some loan applications require access to gallery and contacts for subscription and authenticity rating. However, responsible lenders respect the confidentiality of this data, and strictly avoid sharing it with third parties, including telephone recovery agents. Under the current circumstances, lenders have become very proficient in terms of the underwriting system and follow controlled collection processes. This eliminated their reliance on contact lists or gallery access, thus eliminating any possibility of egregious practices. Additionally, responsible digital lenders ensure a tight data security framework by appropriately monitoring AI functionality and performing frequent information security audits.

Fair collection techniques

Digital lenders have become very consumer-centric to provide a convenient borrowing experience and take the stress out of borrowers. This is also reflected in their collection strategies. Responsible lenders ensure that debt collectors act within the Code of Fair Practices and thus facilitate regular training. With the help of legal counsel, legitimate lenders work meticulously to verify the communication scripts required in phone calls, SMS and OBD. In addition, all of their voice communication is recorded and verified by an internal quality analysis team. Responsible digital lenders are careful to limit agent access to borrower details to the loan parameters (the EMI due date) only.

(Expert comments from Madhusudan Ekambaram, co-founder and CEO, KreditBee and co-founder, FACE (Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment)

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