The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the rollout of an exclusive ‘.bank.in’ internet domain for all Indian lenders, aimed at curbing digital financial frauds.

Starting in April 2025, all Indian lenders will be required to adopt this new domain. Malhotra said this step would ensure customers can distinguish legitimate banking websites from fraudulent ones.

Following this, a ‘fin.in’ domain would be introduced for the broader financial sector. Malhotra said, “The surge in digital frauds is a matter of concern, warranting action by all stakeholders.”

The governor, in his debut policy meeting, also said banks and non-banking financial institutions (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,” he said.

Malhotra underlined that the RBI has been taking measures to enhance digital security in the banking and payments system.

“Introduction of Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) for domestic digital payments is one such measure. It is proposed to extend AFA to online international digital payments made to offshore merchants, who are enabled for such authentication,” he said.

He also announced that the RBI will extend two-factor authentication for international transactions made to offshore merchants.

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