Banks to have ‘bank.In’ internet domainname, non-banks ‘fin.In’: Reserve Bank

 

 

IN ORDER to check cyber security threats, theReserveBank on FridaydecidedthatIndianbanks will have exclusive internet domainname‘bank.In’andnonbank financial entities ‘fin.In’. Unveiling the last bi-monthly monetary policy of this fiscal year, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said registrations for ‘bank.In’ will commence from April 2025, and going forward ‘fin.In’ will be introduced. The decision is aimed at enhancing trust in the financial sector, he said adding the increased instances of fraud in digital payments areasignificant concern. “To combat the same, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is introducing the ‘bank.In’ exclusive Internet Domain forIndian banks,” he said. The initiative aims to reduce cyber security threats and maliciousactivitieslikephishing, and streamline secure financial services, thereby enhancing trust in digital banking and payment services.

 

The Institute for Development and Research in BankingTechnology (IDRBT)will act as the exclusive registrar. Going forward, Malhotra said it is planned to have an exclusive domain --‘fin.In’-- for nonbank entitiesin the financialsector. The RBI also decided to introduce an additionallayer of securitybyenablingAdditionalFactor ofAuthentication (AFA)incrossborder‘Card Not Present’ transactions. The central bank said that introduction of AFA for digital paymentshasenhanced thesafety of transactionswhich,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 transactionsusingcards issued in India, it is proposed to enableAFA forinternationalcard notpresent (online) transactions as well,” the RBI said. This will provide an additionallayerofsecurityincaseswhere theoverseasmerchantisenabled for AFA. Draft circular will be issued shortly for feedback from stakeholders.