Should You Rely on Mobile Apps for Availing Personal Loans?

Personal loans are highly in demand in the country. Such loans cater to several emergency requirements of individuals from varying sections of the society. We've been borrowing loans from banks for decades. Then came NBFCs or the Non-Banking Financial Companies. However, today it is a digitalized world and India is behind none in its efforts to getting advanced technology in use, making things simpler, quick and convenient for the masses.

Mobile Apps for Personal Loans

There are so many apps available on the internet which offer you to apply for and avail personal loans.

The question is – is it safe to rely on the mobile apps? Well, the answer is that you need to be as cautious with mobile apps for personal loans as you would be with any financial product. In fact, no one is unaware of the online frauds that are going on across the globe. This further mandates extra care when considering mobile applications for loans.

Relying on Mobile Apps for Personal Loans - What You Can Do

Given the need to be cautious, here are a list of things you can do while trying to get a personal loan borrowed in a secured fashion via mobile apps:

• Checking whether the app has a proper KYC check running or not
• Ensuring that the mobile application carries out an evaluation of your ability to repay the full amount in time
• Also, see whether the All fees, charges and penalties mentioned are transparent or not

A genuine loan issuer needs a lot of information about the borrower as they need to know if there's any risk associated. An app that lets you have a loan without much KYC check and evaluation of your repayment ability might not be an authorized one.

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Furthermore, if it's not fake, then there should not be charges that are kept hidden from you till the agreement.

While these are a few things you can do to get personal loan via some mobile app, there are various other steps to take:

Don't Fall for the Ease or Due to Emergency Need

It is true that we all prefer ease and convenience. And easily accessible online mobile apps can seem attractive when planning to take a personal loan. You might also be in an urgent need of funds and the app's terms may appear to be highly favorable. You need to avoid falling into a trap. There can be serious risks attached.

Registration with RBI

The Reserve Bank of India has all the legitimate apps registered with it. They can be registered as a bank or as an NBFC. Check the list of the authorized loan service providers and digital lenders as provided by the country's central bank on its website. The app needs to be operated either directly by any of these entities, or can be partnered with any.

Authorization from the RBI serves as the evidence of legitimacy.

Apps on official app stores

Another thing to check is if the apps are present on the official app stores. You should not be needing to download any APK files or installing from sources that are unknown to you. Apps requiring such downloads or installs often bypass the regulatory scrutiny. They can risk your data as well as finances, putting them both in a bad shape.

Going Through the Reviews and Ratings

Quite common, users tend to check the ratings and reviews given by people. However, note that many compelling reviews and ratings can fall short on the face of one review that mentions fraud from the app's side. Do not just believe or end up relying on the numbers, but go ahead and note if there are any issues like harassment of hidden fees, even personal data misuse, mentioned.

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Privacy Policy

When the mobile app is genuine or legitimate, there is also the presence of a clear privacy policy. There won't be much efforts to get access to your photos, contacts, locations, etc. They can be required in case, but that's not very common.

Fast Disbursals – A Red Flag

When we look for a mobile app for a loan, we also want to get the amount disbursed as soon as possible. This leads us to go to almost any extent to ensure a loan from them. We can get into a serious debt trap when the app comes out to be a fraud later on.

Lastly, do not ignore the repayment terms, availability of customer service, the loan agreement terms, etc. Report in case of any pressurization or harassment.

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