In a strategic move to counter the rising tide of cyber-enabled financial frauds, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued an advisory on June 30, 2025, mandating all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) into their systems. This landmark advisory marks a pivotal step in India’s efforts to fortify its digital financial ecosystem and prevent cyber fraud through inter-agency coordination and real-time data exchange.

The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), developed by DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), was officially launched in May 2025. The FRI acts as a dynamic, risk-based tool that classifies mobile numbers as Medium, High, or Very High risk, based on their potential association with financial fraud. The classification draws on a combination of intelligence sources, including inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’s (I4C) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), DoT’s Chakshu platform, and feedback from banks and financial institutions.

By adopting FRI, banks and financial service providers can proactively enhance their fraud prevention frameworks. The tool enables institutions to take real-time decisions, such as blocking or delaying high-risk transactions, alerting customers about suspicious activity, or flagging potentially fraudulent mobile numbers during digital transactions. This integration is designed to drastically reduce instances of cyber fraud, especially those targeting the increasingly popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Notably, several leading institutions, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Paytm, PhonePe, and India Post Payments Bank, have already integrated the FRI into their systems. These early adopters have witnessed significant improvements in the speed and accuracy of fraud detection and intervention. With mobile numbers often acting as the entry point for fraudsters, the FRI enables swift, data-driven responses that safeguard users and enhance institutional resilience.

In addition to the FRI, the DIU also disseminates the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) to financial stakeholders. This list includes mobile numbers that have been deactivated due to links with cybercrime, verification failures, or misuse. These efforts collectively reinforce the country’s capacity to identify and respond to cyber threats across both the telecom and banking sectors.

The RBI’s endorsement of the FRI reflects growing recognition of the need for cross-sectoral collaboration in addressing cybercrime. This development is aligned with the Government of India’s broader Digital India vision, aiming to build a secure, transparent, and trustworthy digital ecosystem.

The Department of Telecommunications reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the financial sector by advancing technology-driven, API-based integrations that enable continuous feedback and real-time responsiveness. As the FRI gains traction across the banking and fintech ecosystem, it is poised to become a sector-wide standard in digital fraud prevention.

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