Pera4U Review: SEC Cease-and-Desist - What Borrowers Do

Contents

Pera4U is a Philippine loan app operated by U-Peso.ph Lending Corporation, and the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered that company to stop operating on June 26, 2023, over abusive collection practices. The platform is also absent from the SEC list of recorded online lending platforms dated January 26, 2026. Those two facts frame everything below. We checked the records on September 16, 2026: what happened, what the order means for your money, and what to do if you already owe the Pera4U loan app.

What we verified: Pera4U at a glance

The table separates what the company claims from what the regulator put on record. Checked September 16, 2026.

Item What we found Source
Operator U-Peso.ph Lending Corporation, a lending corporation based in Parañaque pera4u.com privacy policy; upeso.ph
Registration claim Registration number CS201814908 and certificate of authority 2718, self-reported on company pages; not verified against the registry upeso.ph; removed Play listing via AppBrain
Platform record None. Absent from the January 26, 2026 list, checked row by row: Pera4U, PeraLending, LoanMoto, UPeso, and the company itself SEC list reprint, newspress.ph, February 6, 2026
SEC action Cease-and-desist orders of June 26, 2023, En Banc Case 07-23-003; ground: abusive collection or debt recovery practices; criminal complaint filed with the DOJ SEC statements of June 30, 2023, reported July 3, 2023
Google Play Removed December 26, 2024; 500,000+ installs before removal AppBrain (secondary)
Distribution today Website still accepts applications; APK installer served from apk.pesolands.com; no App Store listing pera4u.com, checked September 16, 2026
Published loan terms None. Only "approval within 24 hours" and ID requirements: SSS, UMID, or driver's license pera4u.com

Two facts define this case. A 2023 order to stop operating, and a platform that never made the recorded list.

What happened to Pera4U: the timeline

The short version: a self-declared lender ran four platforms, got ordered to stop, lost its Play Store listing, and kept its website open.

  1. A registration the company claims on its own. U-Peso.ph Lending Corporation presents itself as SEC-registered under number CS201814908, with certificate of authority 2718. Both numbers appear on the company's website and in the removed Play listing. We could not confirm them in the registry, and we say so plainly.
  2. Four platforms under one roof. The same company operated UPESO, Pera4U, PeraLending, and LoanMoto. The roster comes straight from the caption of the SEC case.
  3. June 26, 2023: the orders. In En Banc Case 07-23-003, the SEC ordered six lending companies to stop operating, and U-Peso.ph Lending Corporation was one of them. The stated ground was abusive collection or debt recovery practices. The commission paired the orders with a criminal complaint filed with the Department of Justice, and the stop directive covered every online lending platform the company ran. The SEC presented results on June 30, 2023, reported by Negros Now Daily on July 3, 2023.
  4. December 26, 2024: the Play Store exit. The Pera4U app, package com.pera4u.peso, was removed from Google Play after passing 500,000 installs, per AppBrain records.
  5. September 16, 2026: the website keeps going. pera4u.com still accepts applications and serves an APK installer from apk.pesolands.com. No App Store listing exists. We found no public record that the 2023 orders were lifted.

One clarification matters. Pera4U does not appear in the SEC's later enforcement waves, like the 22-app list from early 2026. The case against it stands on its own feet: the 2023 orders plus the missing platform record. Same destination, different paperwork.

What a cease-and-desist order means for a borrower

A cease-and-desist order is a directive from the SEC to stop an activity. In this case the activity is online lending, and the stated reason is abusive collection or debt recovery practices. It is not a fine and not a suggestion. The commission also filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Justice.

Being recorded as an online lending platform is a separate requirement. Under MC 19, series of 2019, lending companies must record each app they run, and the SEC publishes the roster. The latest public release, dated January 26, 2026, covers 117 companies and roughly 178 platforms. Pera4U is not in it. Neither are UPeso, PeraLending, or LoanMoto.

The practical meaning: there is no regulator-verified chain between the app on a phone and a licensed lender. With a recorded platform you can trace a logo to a corporation and a license file. With Pera4U, that trace ends at a website.

The distribution channel adds its own warning. The app left Google Play on December 26, 2024, and now installs from an APK file served at apk.pesolands.com. That channel has no gatekeeper. No store reviews the developer, the permissions, or the license. An app regulators ordered to stop did not get safer by moving out of the store.

You already have a Pera4U loan: what to do

First, the honest part. We are a comparison site, not a law firm, and nothing below is legal advice. Nobody should promise that a debt evaporates because a lender got sanctioned. Here is what you can do.

  1. Document everything now. Save the loan agreement, any disclosure screen, receipts for every payment, and chat logs with collectors. If the terms ever get disputed, screenshots are your record.
  2. Pay only through documented channels. If you repay, use the payment routes written in the contract or inside the app, and keep every receipt. Do not send money to personal accounts, and ignore "new payment lines" that arrive by SMS.
  3. If collectors pressure you, log it and complain. Threats, public shaming, and messages to your contacts match the abusive collection the SEC cited in its orders. Save the messages with dates, then use our guides on borrower rights and loan app harassment to file with the right agency.
  4. Do not assume the debt is void. Sanctions stop a company from operating; they do not automatically cancel existing obligations. What the orders mean for collecting your specific loan is a question for the SEC and, if needed, a lawyer.

Paper first, payments traceable, complaints filed: that is the whole playbook.

Don't confuse two "U-Peso" companies

This part trips readers up, so we pulled both records side by side. Two corporations with near-identical names sit in the same corner of Parañaque, and only one of them is under orders.

U-Peso.ph Lending Corporation U-Peso Lending Investors Corp.
Brand Pera4U, also UPeso, PeraLending, LoanMoto PesoQ
Registration number CS201814908, self-reported only CS201816691, per company footers
Certificate of authority 2718, self-reported only 2739, per company footers
Recorded platforms list (January 26, 2026) Absent, checked row by row Listed: entry 108, platform PesoQ, recorded October 15, 2019
SEC action Cease-and-desist orders of June 26, 2023 None found in the advisories we track
Address per company pages 12/F Aseana Three Bldg., Macapagal Blvd., Tambo 2/F Aseana Power Station, Macapagal Ave., Tambo

The names are near-twins, and the offices sit blocks apart around Macapagal Boulevard. That is why the registration numbers matter more than the signage. CS201814908 and CS201816691 are different corporations with different records. PesoQ holds a recorded platform. The Pera4U operator holds an order to stop. If a collector invokes a "U-Peso" name, ask which one, then check the number.

Safer starting points: three SEC-registered alternatives

If you came here looking for a loan rather than a post-mortem, redirect the search. Each option below holds a current SEC license, and each appears in our SEC registered lending apps list.

Before you commit, run any offer through our loan calculator. The gap between a 0% first loan and a 131% ceiling is the difference between cheap money and a debt treadmill.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pera4U SEC registered?

The operator claims to be registered and prints registration number CS201814908 and certificate of authority 2718 on its own website. We could not verify either number against the SEC registry. The platform itself is absent from the recorded online lending platforms list of January 26, 2026, and the SEC ordered the company to stop operating on June 26, 2023.

Is Pera4U legit ba or scam?

Treat it as unsafe. The SEC ordered its operator to stop lending over abusive collection practices in June 2023, the platform never appeared in the recorded list, and the app now installs from an APK file outside any store. Whatever the ads claim, the regulator already acted.

Can I still borrow from Pera4U?

The website still accepts applications as of August 2026, so technically the door is open. We do not recommend walking through it. No public record shows the cease-and-desist orders were lifted, the platform is unrecorded, and the APK channel bypasses app store review.

I have an unpaid Pera4U loan, what now?

Keep screenshots of the agreement and every payment, repay only through the channels written in your contract, and never send money to personal accounts or SMS-only numbers. If collectors threaten you or message your contacts, save the evidence. Complain to the SEC or the National Privacy Commission. Nobody can promise the debt is void; that is a question for regulators and lawyers, not a comparison site.

Why is Pera4U not on the recent SEC ban lists?

Different procedure, same direction. The 2025 and 2026 waves, including the list of 22 illegal apps, targeted unregistered apps and impersonators. The Pera4U case predates them: cease-and-desist orders from June 2023 plus an absent platform record. For a borrower the practical answer is identical.

The verdict on this lender

Legit ba? The SEC answered in June 2023, and the platforms list answered again in January 2026. Borrow from lenders the registry can see.

Sources and verification

Registry and case facts checked September 16, 2026. Brand domains are named as facts and intentionally not hyperlinked: we do not send readers to this app.