Smartphone EMI defaults rise as lenders stop remote cell blocking

Defaults on consumer durable loans taken to purchase smartphones are increasing every month after the Reserve Bank of India asked non-banking lenders to stay away from remotely blocking devices for which repayments have failed.

“Ever since the RBI has clamped down on practices like device blocking for defaulting borrowers, the underlying health of portfolios has started to surface more clearly. We are already seeing a 20% month-on-month rise in delinquencies in the smartphone financing category,” said Ananth Shroff, founder of DPDZero, a Bengaluru-based debt collections startup.