Bank News: All major banks in the country, including State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, have moved their official websites from the old ‘.com’ or ‘.co.in’ domains to ‘.bank.in’.
This move comes on the instructions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), aimed at strengthening online banking security and ensuring customers have secure access to genuine banking websites.
What is the RBI directive?
The RBI had directed all banks to migrate their internet banking portals to a special ‘.bank.in’ domain by October 31, 2025. The main objective of this change is to prevent phishing and fake website scams, where fraudsters create links resembling genuine bank websites to obtain customers’ banking details. With the migration deadline now over, customers are being advised to carefully check website URLs and log in only to sites with the official ‘.bank.in’ domain.
Why is the ‘.bank.in’ domain more secure?
The new ‘.bank.in’ domain is only granted to institutions approved and regulated by the RBI. This means that no fraudulent or unauthorized entity can register this domain. This move will not only reduce online banking fraud but also enhance cybersecurity and customer confidence.
Decline in banking fraud cases
According to the RBI’s annual report released in May 2025, the number of banking fraud cases declined in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), but the total amount of fraud increased almost threefold. Most of the cases were found to be related to digital payment transactions. According to the report, a total of 23,953 bank fraud cases were registered in FY25, a decrease of 34% compared to the previous year. However, the total amount of these frauds increased to ₹36,014 crore—almost three times compared to FY24. The RBI stated that the increase in the total amount was due to the reclassification of 122 old cases (₹18,674 crore) and re-reporting under the Supreme Court’s order of March 27, 2023.
Private vs. Public Sector Banks
Private sector banks reported the most cases—14,233 incidents, accounting for 59.4% of the total. Public sector banks, on the other hand, reported fewer cases (6,935), but the fraud amount was higher—₹25,667 crore, compared to ₹10,088 crore for private banks.
