- India’s reserve bank launching new .bank.in and .fin.in -Domains
- They will prove the authenticity of a bank site
- Digital fraud is increasing in the country
India’s Central Bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is ready to introduce a brand new ‘.bank.in’ Domain in April 2025 to fight digital fraud (via Pakinomist).
The Central Bank Governor warned lenders against rising cases of fraud in digital payments – the new secure site domain hoped to stamp dodgy economic activity by proving authenticity.
In addition, a separate ‘. Fin.in ‘domain also set to be rolled out for non-bank-financial institutions in the country, all in an attempt to tackle rising fraud cases.
Indian banking domains were launched to tackle fraud
The governor confirmed that the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) will be the only domain registrar for the new .bank.in and .fin.in domains that impose strict control over who can register them.
The updated domains will help users distinguish between legitimate bank sites and fake. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the initiative would also help reduce cyber threats such as phishing attacks that India has struggled with more than ever.
Scammers typically use slightly different domain names that may look like legitimate, so having an exclusive set of reliable domains will help strengthen security. That said, threat actors could still use ‘typosquatting’ techniques, such as swapping the letter ‘I’ for a ‘L’, so Indian bank customers still have to remember this when they control the domain in their address beam.
Other security measures used in India’s financial sector include the additional factor for approval (AFA) for domestic digital payments.
Malhotra summarized: “The wave in digital fraud is a matter of concern and justifies action from all stakeholders.”
Detailed guidelines regarding the new domains must be issued separately by RBI.
