To tackle digital banking frauds, Indian banks to have special Internet domain ‘bank.in’

Malhotra, who flagged the “surge in digital frauds” in India as a matter of concern, also announced that the central bank proposes to extend additional factor of authentication (AFA) to online international digital payments—using India-issued cards—made to offshore merchants who are enabled for such authentication. Currently, AFA is mandatory for domestic transactions only.

“The rapid digitalisation of financial services has brought convenience and efficiency but has also increased exposure to cyber threats and digital risks, which are getting sophisticated day by day. The surge in digital frauds is a matter of concern, warranting action by all stakeholders,” Malhotra said while announcing these two measures in his statement on the central bank’s bi-monthly monetary policy.

“Banks and NBFCs must continuously improve preventive and detective controls to mitigate cyber risks. They must develop robust incident response and recovery mechanisms, reinforced through periodic testing, for operational resilience,” Malhotra added.

According to the Indian central bank, the new exclusive Internet domains for the country’s banking and financial sector would help reduce cyber security threats and malicious activities like phishing, while streamlining secure financial services and enhancing trust in digital banking and payment services.

“The Institute for Development and Research in Banking’ Technology (IDRBT) will act as the exclusive registrar. The actual registrations will commence from April 2025. Detailed guidelines for banks will be issued separately. Going forward, it is planned to have an exclusive domain viz, ‘fin.in’ for other non-bank entities in the financial sector,” the RBI said in a release.

On the additional factor of authentication for international online payments, the central bank said that it wants such transactions to have a level of safety similar to digital payments within India.

“Introduction of Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) for digital payments has enhanced the safety of transactions which, in turn, provided confidence to customers to adopt digital payments. This requirement, however, is mandatory for domestic transactions only… In order to provide a similar level of safety for online international transactions using cards issued in India, it is proposed to enable AFA for international card not present (online) transactions as well. This will provide an additional layer of security in cases where the overseas merchant is enabled for AFA. Draft circular will be issued shortly for feedback from stakeholders,” the RBI said.