The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a circular asking Indian banks to shift their net banking facilities to an exclusive online domain- “.bank.in’. The process of shifting to exclusive domains must be completed latest by October 31, 2025, instructed RBI.
The ‘.bank.in’ domain is a secure and exclusive digital space launched by the RBI for Indian banks, aimed at reducing online payment fraud and strengthening trust in digital banking services.the domain is also expected to help prevent phishing and spoofing attacks through illegitimate banking sites. An exclusive domain will ensure that customers can identify authentic banking websites.
Looking at the rates of rising financial frauds, the move has been directed to curb down these frauds and strengthen the confidence of the users on internet banking platforms.
As per the circular released by RBI, it said,” Please refer to para 4 of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 7, 2025, on “Enhancing Trust in the Financial Sector through ‘bank.in‘ and ‘fin.in‘ domains” wherein the introduction of exclusive Internet Domain, ‘.bank.in’ for banks to combat the increased instances of fraud in digital payments was announced. This initiative is aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity framework and enhancing public confidence in digital banking and payment systems.”
RBI had announced the initiative of exclusive domain on February 7, 2025. This initiative was a part of the steps taken to boost the cybersecurity framework in terms of finance. Registration for this domain is expected to start this month to curb down financial frauds and losses. The ‘fin.in’ domain for the financial sector is in the pipeline and will be launched soon, as per RBI.
Banks have been advised to connect with IDRBT at sahyog@idrbt.ac.infor step-by-step guidance on registration and domain migration
