In a major step to curb the growing threat of cyber-enabled financial frauds, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised all Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, and Co-operative Banks to integrate the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Issued on June 30, 2025, the RBI directive marks a pivotal moment in inter-agency collaboration aimed at boosting security in India’s fast-expanding digital economy. The FRI, introduced by DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) in May 2025, is a risk-based tool that classifies mobile numbers as Medium, High, or Very High risk based on their likelihood of being used for financial fraud.
This risk tagging is determined using inputs from multiple platforms, including the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), DoT’s Chakshu portal, and data shared by banks and financial institutions.
By adopting the FRI, banks and financial service providers can now receive real-time risk alerts linked to a customer’s mobile number. This allows them to take swift precautionary steps such as flagging or delaying high-risk transactions, issuing customer warnings, or declining suspicious payments altogether. The ultimate aim is to reduce instances of fraud before they occur.
The importance of this integration is heightened by the widespread use of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), now India’s most popular payment method. With real-time access to telecom intelligence through an API-based system, institutions can proactively block or monitor transactions linked to potentially compromised mobile numbers. Already, several major players such as PhonePe, Paytm, India Post Payments Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Punjab National Bank have begun leveraging the FRI to enhance fraud prevention.
In addition to real-time alerts, DoT’s DIU also issues the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL), a database of disconnected mobile numbers associated with failed verifications, cybercrime cases, or misuse. This list is regularly shared with financial entities, helping them identify patterns and prevent repeat offenders from re-entering the system.
The move aligns closely with the Government’s broader Digital India vision of building a secure, resilient, and citizen-centric digital financial ecosystem. It also illustrates the growing emphasis on integrating cross-sectoral intelligence, bringing telecom data and banking systems into a common framework for fraud prevention.
Going forward, DoT has committed to working with RBI-regulated institutions to further refine the FRI, streamline alert mechanisms, and accelerate fraud detection. As more financial institutions incorporate this tool, it is expected to become a sector-wide standard—enabling quicker decision-making, better fraud response, and enhanced public trust in digital services.
This development signifies a transformative moment in cyber fraud prevention, offering citizens and institutions alike a stronger shield against the ever-evolving threat of online financial crime.
