Lazypay: Ban on lending apps LazyPay and Kissht removed; update on other blocked apps and websites

The government has good news for Indian lending apps LazyPay and Kissht. The ban imposed on these apps earlier this week is being revoked. The government reportedly removed the ban on fintech companies LazyPay and Kissht after representations were made by these companies. The two apps were among the 232 apps that were banned recently by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Most of these apps are operated by overseas entities, including Chinese, and are said to be involved in betting, gambling and unauthorised loan service.
According to news agency PTI, sources said that the government will revoke the ban on LazyPay and Kissht that were in the list of banned websites and apps after representations were made by these companies. A senior government official confirmed the development.
Ban on 232 apps
MeitY issued blocking orders based on an emergency request issued by a nodal officer of the home ministry. The ban apps include 138 betting and gambling websites and 94 loan apps. These websites and apps are said to be engaged in illegal money laundering and pose a threat to financial security of the country.
As per the list, MeitY issued orders to block lazypay.in, which is a subsidiary of Dutch investment firm Prosus, while Kissht.com is being operated by RBI-registered NBFC ONEMi Technology Solutions Private Limited.
Another Indian company in the list is IndiaBulls Home Loans, it is not clear if the ban on it too has been revoked. The website www.indiabullshomeloans.com is operated by housing finance company Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd

Companies deny links to banned entities say they are copycats
The other websites in the blocked list include buddyloan.com, cashtm.in, kreditbee.en.aptoide.com, faircent.com, true-balance.en.uptodown.com, and mpokket.en.aptoide.com. mPokket, True Balance and Kreditbee have denied any link with the banned platform. Incidentally, the companies with these names have denied any link to these banned websites and apps. They claim that they are copycats using their name to dupe people.
“The reference of TrueBalance in the media story which mentions Meity’s target list of digital lenders is a clear case of impersonation. There is a proxy app present on the app store Uptodown with which we (TrueBalance) hold no direct or indirect connection. We hereby clarify that hitherto we have not received any official communication from the ministry,” Balancehero India- which operates True Balance, said.
Similarly KreditBee said Aptoide is a third-party App Store, with which it has no formal or informal partnership. “We are speculating that it’s a proxy app on Aptoide, and investigating this further. Blocking of the Aptoide link is a favourable outcome for us,” the company said. mPokket too has said that the app in the banned list is impersonating it and the company has no link with the blocked platform.