The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new guidelines to prevent financial fraud. The new guidelines of RBI will come into effect from 31 March 2025. RBI has ordered regulated entities (REs) to adopt strict security measures. RBI has taken this decision with the aim of preventing frauds caused by misuse of mobile numbers. It is generally used for fraud in digital transactions.
RBI has made rules related to registration and number series for commercial calls and messages. The main objective of RBI and TRAI is to prevent misuse of mobile numbers for fraudulent activities and to keep India’s digital financial ecosystem safe.
What are the new guidelines (RBI New Guidelines)
Mobile number revocation list should be used. RBI has ensured that banks, NBFCs and payment aggregators will have to use the Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Through this, access related to illegal or closed mobile numbers can be removed. Additionally, bank accounts linked to these numbers will be monitored to prevent fraud.
RBI has directed banks and financial institutions to make their customers aware about these rules through email, SMS and in regional languages, so that customers can avoid fake calls and messages.
New number series released
Now banks, stock brokers and other financial institutions will have to use 140/160 number series for commercial calls. This means that in future, service and transactional messages will come from the ‘1600xx’ number, while promotional calls will come from the ‘140xx’ number. This will make it clear which calls or messages are registered and which are not.
Customer care number registration
Under the new RBI rules, entities will have to register their customer care number on the Sanchar Sathi portal of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). This rule has been brought to protect customers from fake numbers and to increase transparency.