The Chinese threat to Indian fintechs

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Editor's note: Indian bankers and fintech executives should be worried. Predatory loan apps with links to China pose a national security challenge that could undermine our digital banking ambitions.  This is despite the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India, Google and India’s financial industry adopting several measures over the past couple of years to prevent such apps from duping unsuspecting Indians. New regulations, changes in Play Store policies, public awareness campaigns and the idea of a “whitelist” of legal loan apps to be prepared by the central bank are some of these steps.  But the phenomenon of fraudulent Chinese loan apps seems to go beyond extortion. It’s time the Indian government looked at the possibility of fake loan apps as being part of China’s geopolitical strategy. These fly-by-night operators are well financed, enjoy support from their accomplices from outside the country and are resourceful. What works in their favor is that existing regulations and compliance systems of Indian banks and payment firms are inadequate when it comes to detecting fraud in real time. Moreover, any policy changes only increase the compliance …