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Easy money

The loan sharks are back, and this time with AI

Copy-pasted from elsewhere, payday loans have made their entry into India. They have a captive audience of 3 million urban millennials who can’t get a credit card but love to shop, even when they can’t afford it. And cushioned by the tech label, these startups can charge eye-popping interest rates. Who’ll question them?

03/10/16

Patanjali Pahwa

Some companies have interests rates as high as 456% a year

These apps demand access to not only the customer’s bank account but also LinkedIn and Facebook profiles

As a last resort some of them even post on customer’s walls and call them defaulters

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In August 2015, Anshul Raheja stood in front of a billing clerk at an upscale jewellery store in Bengaluru. He was embarrassed and angry. It was his wife’s birthday and she had selected a diamond necklace. He had asked the store to swipe his AmEx card. Payment declined. “Try again,” he asked the billing clerk….

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