RBI Unveils Plan for 'bank.in' and 'fin.in' Domains to Improve Cyber Protection
To address cybersecurity threats, the Reserve Bank announced on Friday that Indian banks will be assigned the exclusive internet domain name 'bank.in', while non-bank financial entities will use '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 are a significant concern.
"To combat the same, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is introducing the 'bank.in' exclusive Internet Domain for Indian banks", he said.
The initiative aims to reduce cyber security threats and malicious activities like phishing, and streamline secure financial services, thereby enhancing trust in digital banking and payment services.
The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) will act as the exclusive registrar.
Going forward, Malhotra said it is planned to have an exclusive domain -- 'fin.in' -- for non-bank entities in the financial sector.
The RBI also decided to introduce an additional layer of security by enabling Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) in cross-border 'Card Not Present' transactions.
The central bank said that introduction of 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", the RBI said.
This will add an extra layer of security in situations where the overseas merchant supports AFA. A draft circular will be issued soon for stakeholder feedback.
