The Reserve Bank of India has announced the launch of new second-level domain names – bank.in and Fin.in, aimed at enhancing trust in financial services and safeguarding users from scammers. With the rise in digital payments and phishing incidents, authorities are striving to establish a standardized domain naming system for banks and financial institutions.
India boasts a vast banking network encompassing 12 state-owned banks, 21 private banks, 43 regional rural banks, over 300 cooperative banks, and more than 1800 agricultural and rural banks. This extensive system presents a fertile ground for scammers to set up bogus banks to pilfer customer data. The introduction of the Bank.in domain will differentiate legitimate banks from fraudulent entities, making it easier for users to authenticate financial institutions.
Furthermore, the new domain zone, Fin.in, will cater to credit organizations and financial services. India houses approximately 100,000 primary agricultural cooperative credit societies (PACS), many of which are yet to establish an online presence. As the government champions the digitalization of public services and the financial sector, the introduction of a specialized domain is poised to assist cooperatives in securely venturing into the online domain.
In a further move, the Reserve Bank of India is implementing mandatory two-factor authentication for international transactions that do not necessitate the physical presentation of a card. This measure aims to curb fraud levels in online payments.