Looking for an instant loan without having to stand in queue or visit a bank? How does CashE fare on our test?
CashE App
Most of us have those moments when we need cash desperately — be it a medical emergency, fees for professional course, book emergency air tickets, or for cases when you have overshot your credit card bill. You could borrow from friends or acquaintances but only up to a point. You could go to your bank, but that would require juggling between work and not-interested relationship managers. Trying to meet this need for instant credit among young salaried Indians, is CashE, a recently launched mobile app that offers instant loans.
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What does it do?
CashE is a limited-time credit service available only to salaried Indians. It allows you to borrow money up to 40% of you salary for a maximum period of 15 days. The interest charged on the amount borrowed is very low, at just 1.5%. Once a user is approved, he can borrow money for any number of times upon payment of dues.
How it works
You can sign up for the service using either your Facebook or LinkedIn ID. Post this, you are required to share your email, contact number and upload a scan of PAN card. You are also required to submit an address proof and upload a copy of your latest payslip and bank statements. The payslip, says V Raman Kumar, founder of the service, is crucial. “We are offering the services only to salaried Indians, and not to the self-employed people or small business owners,” he adds.
What’s the catch?
All first-time users are required to pay one time processing fee of Rs 450/700/ 1,250, depending upon their loan eligibility. The amount, we personally feel, is little too much if you are planning to borrow only once or twice a year. But it’s not that high an amount if you borrow occasionally, which, is also the aim behind charging a processing fee, says Kumar. “The processing fee covers the cost of analysis and background checks of a user before approving a loan, but it also ensures that a borrower comes back for more loan. If we don’t charge a fee, we will be required to pay for the background checks from our pocket. And, if a borrower doesn’t return for a second loan, we are not going to make any profit,” he adds.
The app aims to target the age group of 20-30. “Most of the salaried people in this age group face a lot of difficulty to secure loans from banks, and are often not treated well. They are also not preferred for credit cards. But they are the ones who need small credits the most. That’s why we are targeting this age-group,” says he adds.
What we don’t like
We are not happy with privacy policy of CashE, which states that the promoter will be sharing your personal information with third parties. Though, Kumar says that it will only be for verification purposes, the wording of the policy is not very clear on the same. Besides, to use CashE, you end up offering its promoter access to not only personally identifiable information but also details of your financial status including PAN, salary slips and bank statements. All these are understandable considering the nature of the service.
If you went to bank, you would be required to share the same details as well. But we cannot understand why it needs access to your social profile (Facebook and LinkedIn) when verification is done via PAN, and most importantly, why does CashE needs access to social and phone contacts and to read your call history.
Frankly, the last set of requirements mean too much of intrusion on a user’s privacy. Besides, CashE as a service is collectively offered by three companies — Aeries Financial Technologies Private Limited, One Capital Pvt Ltd, and a relatively unknown non-banking financial service TSLC PTE.
LTD — each with their defined roles. And we applaud the people behind the app for their openness, but there’s no clarity on who will be responsible for protecting your data.
Minus these hiccups, CashE is a service that Indian banks can learn a few lessons from, especially on how to attract the younger generation.
Available for: Android OS devices
Log on to: Cashe.com and Play.google.com (to download the app)
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