THE National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Monday ordered the shutdown of 26 online lending firms for breaching the data privacy code by publicly shaming borrowers who fail to pay their dues on time.
In an order dated October 18, the NPC placed a ban on the processing of personal data against 26 online lenders charged with public shaming of their borrowers. It said the operators of these mobile applications failed to appear before the commission to respond to allegations lodged by complainants, compelling the agency to issue the closure order.
Since the apps are available to the public for download, installation and use, the NPC decided to ban them for their “continuing threat to the rights and freedoms of data subjects.”
Directed to stop operations are online lending apps CashBus, Cash Flyer, Cashwarm, Cashafin, Cashaku, Cashope, Cashwhale, Credit Peso, Flash Cash, JK Quick Cash Lending, Light Kredit, Loan Motto and Moola Lending. Also instructed to cease from doing business are One Cash, Pautang peso, Pera Express, Peso Now, Peso Tree, Peso.ph, PesoMine, Pinoy Cash, Pinoy Peso, QCash, Sell Loan, SuperCash and Utang Pesos.
“In order to preserve the rights of the complainants and to protect public interest, the commission, through its investigating officers, deems it necessary to impose a ban on the processing of personal data until the final resolution of the cases,” the order read.
The 26 online lenders are part of the 67 firms summoned by the NPC in early October, as they stand accused in data privacy complaints, but whose identities and addresses elude detection.
They have been warned that failure to appear before the commission to answer the allegations could result in a ban on their processing of personal data.
With the order, the executives of the 26 online lending firms are instructed to immediately shut down their operations and make sure their apps are no longer publicly available for download, installation and use.
Further, the NPC directed these online lending firms to stop all activities that entail processing of personal data, including those outsourced to third parties, as well those collected from the contact list of data subjects. They are also tasked to halt the disclosure of false or unwarranted information and employment of unduly intrusive methods of personal data processing.
The NPC is working with the National Telecommunications Commission on the next steps to be taken against the 26 online lenders and with Google LLC, operator of Google Play Store where the apps are uploaded, for its compliance with the takedown order.
In complaints submitted to the data privacy regulator, online lending firms allegedly accessed and used the contact list of their borrowers without consent. With a harvest of contact details in their hands, they reportedly informed the people in the list that they were named character references by the borrowers and, in some cases, even got demands to settle the borrowers’ loan.
10 comments
Last week October 24,Qcash lending apps texted my contact lists in my phone. They continued to spread the news about my debts. As well as one cash online apps. The two online lending were shut down already but still they can operate by texting us. I told them that were already closed by NPC and one of the 26 lenders who shutdown, but they said it was a fake news. Please double check these online lending apps to stop them.
Hello, i received calls and text messages and threatened by one of the lendings also and even I want to pay them I choose not coz of what they did to me..
CashBus change its name to CashLending. It still has the same logo. The company is still operating with sky high interest and continues threats to customers who missed the due date.
Ok lang mag bayad ng utang pero wag naman sobta ang taas ng interst tapus tatakutin ka n i tetex ang mga kakilala grabe
Nagloan ako s Happy pera di ako nkabayad s due date kinabukasan pinadalhan n nila ang contact ko facebook handa nman ako magbayad pero ang naniningil s akin flash cash at di happy pera nkatanggap ako ng lahat ng pang iinsulto at magnanakaw daw ako
lending app opeso, cash jeep, super cash and more lending app are still working, they are not complying in the data privacy act, they are contacting all my contacts iny phone and making text blasts
Please repot this lending apps. Fast peso, who i recently fullpaid them but they invade my contacts with just 2 days overdue,. Next is VCash, im not paying them because of how crazy their agent is.. We had a deal to only pay 1800 for the closure of my account after i paid them the agent said that i didnt make it in time for the deal..then out of nowhere this burst into a crazy person.. Shouting and cursing me by the phone and threatened me.
Peso Tree is still operating without license.
Startloan is harassing me in social media help me please
I am from Davao City, I have so many online loans applied, only this March 19,2021, I received harassments and they also contacted my reference and texted about my debts and they humiliated me. I keep on texting the debt collector that I will pay my loan if my money is already available,but no matter how I try to ask favor, they still continue their wrong doings.
These are the following online lending app.
Cashmeph
Zada cash
Fast cash
Pesopop
Halika cash
Pesokuwento
Flip cash
Bigloan/supercash
Happypera2
Robocash
Please help me..Subra na po ang paninira sa fb friend ko lhat ng contact ko pinahiya nla ako..ngbayad nmn po ako pero sabi kulang pa dw un ..subra po ang tubo nila halos kalahati na nga po ang kinaltas nla sa halagang 1650 papatayin dw nla lht ng pamilya ko at ipapagahasa mga anak ko..yang MMLOAN ONLINE LENDING..tulungan nyo po ako na mapatigil cla