Bharti Airtel has reportedly reached out to over 40 banks and key institutions, including the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), proposing a unified effort to tackle the rising threat of digital financial frauds. The telco has suggested the creation of a centralised repository of known fraudulent financial domains, aimed at enabling proactive blocking of malicious websites and bolstering cyber defences.
Airtel is urging closer collaboration with NPCI to develop this domain repository, which it believes could significantly enhance the security framework of India’s digital payments ecosystem. The telco has made similar overtures to major banks like SBI and HDFC, calling for coordinated intelligence-sharing mechanisms and multi-layered response strategies to combat phishing and other cyber threats.
The company has also proposed joint public education campaigns to raise awareness about online safety and fraud prevention. These campaigns would leverage the collective outreach of Airtel, NPCI, and financial institutions to educate consumers about identifying and avoiding scams.
Additionally, Airtel has raised concerns about the increasing use of over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms by financial institutions to deliver service and transaction alerts, noting that these apps often fall outside the purview of telecom regulations. This, according to Airtel, presents significant security and compliance risks due to the lack of traceability, data sovereignty, and regulatory access.
