Airtel urges RBI, NPCI and banks to collaborate on digital fraud fight

Business Standard

4 hours ago

Bharti Airtel has approached around 40 banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), seeking collaboration to establish a collective database of known fraudulent financial domains.
Airtel expressed support for regulatory discussions and offered assistance to the RBI in framing mechanisms to ensure that over-the-top (OTT) platforms are held responsible for consumer protection in financial communication, according to a PTI report.
The company has also proposed launching joint awareness campaigns to inform the public about evolving tactics in digital fraud and to promote secure digital practices.
On 15 May, Airtel introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) based security platform designed to block fraudulent websites in real time, aiming to prevent digital scams targeting users.
In a regulatory filing, Airtel stated that the service is the first of its kind globally. The platform has been launched in Haryana and will be expanded to other parts of India in due course. According to Airtel, the solution is compatible with multiple communication platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, emails, web browsers and SMS.
Collaboration with NPCI
In a separate communication to NPCI, Airtel suggested a partnership to improve the safety of the country's digital payment infrastructure.
The telecom operator proposed that awareness initiatives use the combined outreach of Airtel and NPCI to educate users on secure online behaviour, identifying phishing threats and protecting against new digital fraud methods. It also suggested workshops to develop and commercialise anti-fraud solutions to help reduce financial fraud cases.
In the communication, Airtel Vice Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Vittal wrote to NPCI MD and CEO Dilip Asbe: 'The NPCI has been deploying AI-based models that offer an advanced real-time Fraud Risk Monitoring and Management solution that generates alerts and allows banks to detect and prevent fraud across all online NPCI products.'
Airtel outlined specific proposals in its 16 May letter, including: 'Closer collaboration between Airtel and NPCI to create a repository of known fraudulent financial domains, enabling proactive blocking of these malicious sites and creating a multi-layered defence against digital fraud.'
Airtel said its fraud detection technology, which restricts access to malicious websites and phishing links at the access point, could complement NPCI's existing systems.
The telecom stated: 'Additionally, during these programmes as well as our overall telco acquisition and experience, we believe that we have strong signals that could lead to identification of potentially fraudulent transactions or users.'
It also recommended joint awareness efforts and workshops to build fraud resistance in the digital payments ecosystem. 'Through this collaboration, NPCI, Airtel and the banking sector can collectively create a more robust and resilient framework for reducing fraud and building greater confidence in India's digital financial services. Airtel remains committed to doing its part and would be happy to provide further technical details and explore how we can work together with the NPCI to enhance the security and integrity of India's digital payments ecosystem,' the letter said.
RBI partnership
In a separate letter to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Vittal acknowledged the central bank's initiatives, including its work with regulated entities and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) on the MuleHunter.ai system.
Vittal wrote: 'This powerful AI-based system has already demonstrated its ability to identify mule accounts used to route illicit funds. By analysing user behaviour and transaction patterns, banks can now flag and disable suspicious accounts more efficiently, thereby disrupting fraud at the transactional layer.'
He added: 'Airtel believes that our fraud detection solution can complement these efforts by stopping fraud at the very first step: the moment a user attempts to access a malicious site.'
'Airtel remains committed to doing its part and would be happy to provide further technical details and explore how we can work together with the RBI in this critical fight against digital fraud,' Vittal stated.
OTT cyber risks
The company also raised concerns about security risks associated with OTT platforms. It said replicating the protection level of SMS on OTT platforms is 'impossible' because detecting and blocking fraudulent links on these platforms is more difficult compared with websites. Airtel also noted the absence of traceability, compliance obligations and regulatory access within OTT platforms.
'In this context, and in light of the ongoing RBI consultation on additional factor authentication (AFA) for digital payments, we wish to emphasise that financial transactions must continue to be conducted over secure telecom networks. Telecom networks offer a level of protection and oversight that OTT platforms currently lack, thereby helping to mitigate fraud risks and enhance overall consumer safety,' Vittal wrote.
Banking industry
Airtel's collaboration proposals received positive feedback from both private and public sector banks.
Previously, Airtel had approached Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea to propose a joint initiative against telecom fraud, aimed at addressing scams targeting users through telecom networks.
In those letters, Airtel cited data showing that over 1.7 million cybercrime complaints were recorded in the first nine months of 2024, with financial losses exceeding ₹11,000 crore. The company urged all telecom providers to jointly work to combat fraudulent and deceptive practices targeting individuals.