India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is set to introduce the exclusive "bank.in" domain for banks, a strategic move aimed at combating the rising tide of digital financial fraud. This initiative intends to significantly reduce cybersecurity threats and malicious activities such as phishing. The goal is to streamline secure financial services to enhance trust in digital banking and payment systems. With over 2,000 banks currently operating in India, assigning them an exclusive domain is expected to make it harder for fraudsters to create fake bank websites and lure victims.
This plan was detailed in a policy update, addressing the "significant concern" around increased digital payment fraud in India. Registration for bank.in domains is scheduled to commence in April. The RBI is also planning a separate domain, "fin.in," for other non-bank entities in the financial sector. To further enhance trust in online payments, the RBI is also introducing Additional Factor Authentication (AFA) for cross-border card-not-present online transactions. The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) will serve as the exclusive registrar.