Lending Firms’ Privacy Violations Condemned by Biz Groups

Finance groups along with the National privacy Commission (NPC) on Wednesday strongly condemned the unethical practices of different lending firms in the country on the handling of private information as lending firms in the country are notorious for using information handed out by borrowers, and the acquisition of a borrower’s photo gallery and contact list through their apps.

NPC, Fintech Alliance.PH, the Philippine Finance Association, and other non-bank financing organizations condemned the “unreasonable and unnecessary” practices of lending firms in a joint statement, citing the said harvesting of data through app permissions.

The statement also mentioned that there are “lawful and reasonable means” of determining a borrower’s credit-worthiness.

Moreover, the joint statement also noted that borrowers’ data are being used excessively to shame and coerce borrowers to settle their dues.

abusive lending firms were also reminded to adhere to the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics as well as the Code of Collection Standards and Ethics, established by FinTech Alliance.PH and the Philippine Finance Association. Lending firms were also told to comply with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and related laws as to the personal data of borrowers.

The joint statement comes as the Google Play Store took down four online lending apps as per NPC’s orders after having been found out that the said lending apps exploit personal data. (GFB)