Naresh drives for Rapido. When his phone died, so did his income — for seven days, until he could borrow enough to replace it.
Until 2024, India's biggest consumer lenders had turned that exact vulnerability into a recovery tool. Miss an EMI, lose your phone. It worked so well that smartphone lending grew from 1% to nearly 40% of consumer borrowing in three years.
Then the RBI banned it.
Lending collapsed by 80%. Delinquencies rose. Rejection rates hit 50%.
Now the tool is coming back. This time with guardrails. The question is whether they're enough.
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