Opera browser accused of providing illegal lending services via Android app
Hindenburg Research released a report that Opera runs four Android applications (CashBean, OKash, OPay, and OPesa) in India, Kenya, and Nigeria. These apps seem to directly violate the Google Play Store ’s policy of prohibiting predatory loans and deceptive descriptions.
Simply put, the loan term and interest rate for Opera apps violate Google Play Store regulations. It is reported that these applications claim to provide a maximum annual growth rate (APR) of not more than 33%, but the actual growth rate is much higher, and for OPesa, it can increase to 438%. Although they publicly provide a reasonable loan term of 91 to 365 days, the actual term (for OKash) is no more than 29 days, and more commonly no more than 15 days, which is far below Google ’s minimum 60-day requirement.
Hindenburg Research also hinted that although profit margins are lower than its main browser business, Opera is still using lending apps to artificially support financial growth.
Currently, Opera and Google have not responded to the incident. If the report is accurate, Opera is expected to face some trouble.
Source: Engadget