Some of the companies that granted loans online charged an interest of 365 percent, former JVP Parliamentarian Wasantha Samarasinghe said on Friday, addressing a press conference.Samarasinghe urged the Central Bank and other institutions to take immediate steps to regulate those lending outfits.

“These companies first ask you to download an app. Then you have to send them a selfie. Once the app is downloaded, the company has access to some of the data in your phone, including your contacts. They will start loaning money from then. These companies charge an interest rate of one percent a day,” he said.Samarasinghe said these loan schemes have a destabilizing influence on society.

“These companies want the debtors to start loan repayments within a week. If they can’t pay, the companies start calling people on your contact list. Then they use the selfie the debtor had sent and publish on social media. These people will start killing themselves soon,” he said.