July 6, 2025 | New Delhi
In a major push to bolster cybersecurity in the banking sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated the integration of the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) across all banks. The tool provides real-time alerts on mobile numbers suspected of being linked to fraudulent activity.
The directive, effective immediately, applies to all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co operative Banks. These institutions are now required to adopt the FRI via API-based integration, allowing them to assess the fraud risk associated with a customer’s mobile number before processing any transaction.
Developed by DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit, the FRI categorizes mobile numbers into Medium, High, or Very High fraud risk tiers. The scoring is based on intelligence gathered from platforms like the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, DoT’s Chakshu, and other verified inputs.
Major UPI platforms and banks—including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Paytm, PhonePe, and India Post Payments Bank—are expected to leverage the tool to flag high-risk transactions in real-time. Based on the assigned risk score, banks can delay or block payments, initiate customer alerts, or implement enhanced verification protocols.
The RBI also urged institutions to consult the DoT’s Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL)—a registry of numbers deactivated due to confirmed fraud or KYC failures.
This initiative marks a coordinated effort between India’s telecom and banking regulators to combat rising incidents of digital payment fraud. Experts see the FRI system as a potential industry standard for fraud detection and prevention, especially as digital transactions continue to surge across the country.
