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Believe me! Your mobile phone activity now decides if you get a loan.
New age Fintech companies are using your mobile/internet trails to decide if you are worthy of getting a loan. Will you now think twice before hurling an abuse on Twitter or downloading a 'free' App? 1/12
New age Fintech companies are using your mobile/internet trails to decide if you are worthy of getting a loan. Will you now think twice before hurling an abuse on Twitter or downloading a 'free' App? 1/12
More and more lending companies (Banks, NBFCs etc) are deploying powerful data analytics tool to judge the credit worthiness of a loan applicant.
So next time you wish to buy a TV on EMI, see what you've been asked to fill in an application form. It all starts from there. 2/12
So next time you wish to buy a TV on EMI, see what you've been asked to fill in an application form. It all starts from there. 2/12
Your phone number, picked up from the application form, tells the following things about you to the lender -
a) Location of your residence and office addresses.
b) If you are paying your bills on time or have you been missing your payment dates (through SMS alerts). 3/12
a) Location of your residence and office addresses.
b) If you are paying your bills on time or have you been missing your payment dates (through SMS alerts). 3/12
c) If recovery agents have been calling you (phone records)
d) If a Do-Not-Disturb has been activated on your phone.
e) Number of contacts, kind of apps used, frequency of using ecommerce website, etc.
Yes, phone operators sell these data points. 4/12
d) If a Do-Not-Disturb has been activated on your phone.
e) Number of contacts, kind of apps used, frequency of using ecommerce website, etc.
Yes, phone operators sell these data points. 4/12
Some online loan application forms ask you to login through Facebook or Google+ account. These details are used spy on your social media activity and to find out -
a) Your lifestyle- Spending/ travel details, club memberships etc.
b) Duration of your social media presence. 5/12
a) Your lifestyle- Spending/ travel details, club memberships etc.
b) Duration of your social media presence. 5/12
c) Your behaviour - Whether you operate through a pseudo name or do you troll people?
d) What kind of company you keep.
e) Your location details.
f) Whether the details given on loan form and/ or extracted from your phone, tally? 6/12
d) What kind of company you keep.
e) Your location details.
f) Whether the details given on loan form and/ or extracted from your phone, tally? 6/12
Sometimes these companies ask you to download a loan app. The app, once downloaded, scrapes the phone for data, including text messages, call-history patterns and geolocation information. Guess what? You willingly 'agree' for this without bothering to read the copious 'T&C'. 7/12
The app continuously transmits data to the lenders so that they get an 'early warning signal' through their analytics engine of you thinking to turn rogue.The app also serves as a geo tag. Incase you decide to scoot after taking a big fat loan, it pins you down. 8/12
It is scary that there are many 3rd party apps that are willing to trade your creditworthiness. These apps tell the lenders about who could be a good candidate for their loans. An innocuous looking loan advertisement pops-up, the next time you open that app. 9/12
Mobile wallets too pilfer your credit and transaction history. Since wallets themselves cannot lend, they share your credit history with banks and NBFCs who in turn offer customised loans through these mobile wallet apps. 10/12
Some apps/ websites lure you to check your credit score for 'Free'. Yes, you get that credit score free but you end up sharing your data. This small expense incurred by the app/ website is the customer acquisition cost. You are then bombarded with a slew of loan offers. 11/12
In a country where 70-80% people do not have credit history, these digital tools enable customers to access finance. However, uncontrolled pilferage of personal data is something that should bother policymakers. The data on you phone is not personal anymore. 12/12 
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