- RBI mandated banks to switch net banking sites to .bank.in domain by Oct 31, 2025
- The .bank.in domain is exclusive to RBI-registered banks, enhancing online security
- Fake banking sites have caused customer losses, urging vigilance on website URLs
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked all the banks to migrate their net banking website addresses to the exclusive '.bank.in' domain. This move was aimed at protecting customers from phishing schemes and ensuring they access legitimate bank websites.
The deadline for banks to migrate to the new '.bank.in' domain was October 31, 2025. It means the websites must have changed by now. Hence, the customers are advised to double-check before logging in to banking sites.
Several customers have reported that they were duped after logging in to fake websites that look exactly like the original, with slight changes in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
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What's special about the '.bank.in' domain?
The '.bank.in' domain is restricted to verified entities registered with the RBI, making it harder for fraudsters. Only RBI-regulated entities can register these domains.
The change is expected to reduce online banking fraud, enhance security and boost customer trust. Major banks like SBI, HDFC, ICICI, and Axis have already migrated to the new domain.
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Rise in financial scams
Financial fraud has become so common that people, especially the elderly, often lose money to online scammers. A report by The National Council on Aging (NCOA) mentioned that people age 60 and above lost a total amount of $3.4 billion to fraud in 2023 alone.
Earlier this year in July, a report emerged that the Kolkata Police arrested four persons for duping a businessman of lakhs of rupees by faking the website of a private bank. The business alleged that the accused had opened a fake website of Axis Bank.
In another case, Lucknow Police, in collaboration with the Cyber Crime Cell, unearthed an inter-state racket. Two class 11 dropouts were using fake websites and apps of bank portals to defraud credit card holders of lakhs of rupees.
