67 online lenders summoned for shaming clients
The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has summoned 67 online lenders for debt shaming their clients, choosing to reach out to them through newspaper publications after the agency could not pin down their physical addresses.
The NPC published on Friday, Oct. 4, an order for summary hearing directed at a long list of apps, whose agents or representatives used the personal information of their clients “to harass, threaten or coerce them to settle their loans,” the order read.
The order was published in newspapers of general circulation after the NPC could not send individual notices to the companies involved. They, including their respective boards of directors, were ordered to appear for a summary hearing at the PICC Complex along Roxas Boulevard in Manila on October 15.
At this point, it is not clear how many companies operated the 67 apps, since it was possible that one company would operate several platforms. The order listed only the names of the mobile apps.
This is also separate from the three online lending companies that NPC had charged with similar violations in September.
Leandro Aguirre, deputy NPC commissioner, said in a text message that corporate names, physical addresses or e-mail addresses “cannot be identified for purposes of service of orders or notices.”
This marked another development in the ongoing pursuit of companies who use the personal information of their clients to threaten them to settle their debts, a tactic that involves public shaming over unpaid loans of as little as P1,000.
“Failure to appear or comply with this order may warrant the issuance of a temporary ban on the processing of personal data and the submission of the complaints for decision based on individual evidence,” the order read.
The list of apps include Cashalo, but the NPC could neither confirm nor deny if this was the same mobile platform of Gokongwei-owned JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Hong Kong-based Oriente.
Last month, NPC’s fact finding team had filed charges against three online lending companies which accounted for 61 percent of the 921 complaints received by NPC since July last year.
These companies were Fynamics Lending Inc., which operates the PondoPeso app; Unipeso Lending Co., which operates the Cashlending app; and Fcash Global Lending Inc., operator of Fast Cash app.
The three companies and their directors were given 10 days last month to respond to the charges, which included noncompliance with the legal requirements of processing personal data as well as malicious and unauthorized disclosure.
Aguirre told reporters on Thursday, Oct. 3, that Fynamics had asked for more time while the two others have filed motions to dismiss the charges.
He deferred from discussing the merits of the responses, which would be judged by the agency’s commissioner and deputy commissioners, including himself. He, however, said that the commission hoped to resolve the cases before yearend./TSB
List of 67 online lending apps
1. Akulaku
2. Batis Loan
3. Cash bus
4. Cash flyer
5. Cash loan
6. Cash moto
7. Cash to go
8. Cash warm
9. Cashafin
10. Cashaku
11. Cashalo
12. Cashaso
13. Cashmoney loan
14. Cashope
15. Cashwhale
16. Crazy Loan
17. Credit coin
18. Credit peso
19. Crutchpil
20. First lending
21. Flash cash
22. Happy cash
23. Hello papaya
24. JK Quick Cash Lending
25. Kwago
26. Lalapeso (Mintwagon Lending Corp)
27. Lending cash
28. Light credit
29. Loan champ
30. Loan motto
31. Loan wallet
32. Mabilis cash
33. Mango cash
34. Mango loan
35. Mcmpire
36. Megaloan
37. MF cash (Microdot Lending Corporation)
38. Moola lending
39. One cash
40. Online loans Pilipinas
41. Pautang peso
42. Pera advance
43. Pera express
44. Pera lending
45. Pera Pocket (Rainbow Cash)
46. Pera4u
47. Peso legend
48. Peso lending
49. Peso now
50. Peso online
51. Peso Q
52. Peso to Go
53. Peso tree
54. Peso wallet
55. Peso.ph
56. Peso2go
57. Pesomine
58. Pesos ph
59. Pesos.ph
60. Pinoy cash
61. Pinoy peso
62. Pondo pocket
63. QCash
64. Sell loan
65. Super cash
66. Super peso
67. Utang pesos
