March 25 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google will label verified investment apps on its app store in India, a move aimed at helping users spot legitimate trading platforms and avoid scams, a senior official at the Securities and Exchange Board of India said on Wednesday.
The move will allow only brokers and intermediaries registered with the SEBI, India's markets regulator, to carry a verified badge, helping users identify legitimate platforms and distinguish them from fraudulent apps.
Around 600 financial services apps in India have already been assigned the verified label, Google India said at an event with the SEBI, adding that the company was committed to building an ecosystem of trusted investment apps.
The initiative comes as the regulator steps up a crackdown on unauthorised investment advisers, finfluencers and fraudulent trading platforms, amid a surge in scams targeting retail investors.
"This verified badge will make it difficult to impersonate genuine financial services apps," SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
Pandey added that the regulator has worked out mechanisms with Google and Meta to bar unregistered financial entities from getting advertisements for their content.
SEBI will also sign agreements with the country's electronics and IT ministry within a month to strengthen coordination in tackling financial fraud, said Jeevan Sonparote, director at the regulator.
(Reporting by Jayshree P. Upadhyay in Mumbai and Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Shinjini Ganguli)
