Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) plans to release a list of digital lenders registered with the authorities (the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs), which prospective borrowers peruse and save themselves from falling prey to scammers.

Jatinder Handoo, CEO, DLAI, said: “We will release a list shortly. If a potential borrower wants to know whether a digital lending is registered with RBI and Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is a member of DLAI, they can go through the list. Sometimes, fraudsters make fake apps in the name of registered companies, which may not have one. The customer may not be aware of the genuineness of these apps. So, the list will have details about whether a lender has an app.”

DLAI is a national level industry association with 100 members, including digital lenders, loan service providers, banks (small finance and universal), NBFC-MFIs, technology service providers, law firms, among others.

Whitelist

Handoo underscored that potential borrowers should check reviews of lending apps at the time of downloading. “We are encouraging lending app users to share their experiences. We are facilitating reporting of frauds to law enforcement agencies,” he said.

The DLAI chief observed that substantial percentage of loan origination and value flows through entities which are not directly regulated by RBI, which makes them important for the ecosystem.

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“Digital lending is part of new economy, which is very fragmented/ diverse. They channelise substantial percentage of business for principal entities (banks and NBFCs),” he said.

The RBI’s Working Group on Digital Lending including Lending through Online Platforms and Mobile Apps had emphasised the importance of publishing the list of NBFCs and the brand names and apps associated with them, which will serve as a whitelist of all the regulated apps in public domain.

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