RBI, banks join hands to launch digital fraud detection platform

India's central bank and top lenders are collaborating on a Digital Payment Intelligence Platform to combat rising digital fraud. The initiative, expected to go live soon, will use real-time data and AI to enhance payment security across the banking ecosystem

New Delhi: In a bid to rein in the increasing incidence of digital payment frauds, major public and private sector banks have been roped in to develop the Digital Payment Intelligence Platform (DPIP) as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) under the supervision and guidance of the RBI.

The proposed platform seeks to bolster fraud risk management by facilitating real-time intelligence sharing and gathering, thereby preventing fraudulent digital transactions, sources said.

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According to sources, the institutional structure of the proposed entity would be created with the help of both public sector and private sector lenders, as fraud is a common monster. Earlier this month, a high-level meeting in this regard was convened to finalise the structure of the platform, where senior bank officials, RBI officials and other stakeholders were present.

Since the issue is one of the top agendas for both the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said the platform should become operational in the next few months.
Once operational, DPIP will collect and analyse data from various sources to identify potential threats and prevent fraudulent activities. By enabling real-time data sharing, the platform will help avoid scams and ensure secure transactions.

Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) has been assigned to build a prototype of DPIP in consultation with 5-10 banks. It is going to leverage advanced technologies to curb payment-related fraud. RBI, in June last year, formed a committee, chaired by A P Hota, former MD & CEO of NPCI, to examine various aspects of establishing this digital public infrastructure.

According to the latest annual report of the RBI, there has been a significant surge in bank frauds, with the amount involved rising nearly three times to Rs 36,014 crore in FY25, compared to Rs 12,230 crore in the previous year.

Of this, as much as Rs 25,667 crore worth of frauds were reported by public sector banks as against Rs 9,254 crore a year ago. Frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet) in terms of the number, and primarily in the loan portfolio (advances) in terms of value, it said.

While card/internet frauds contributed the maximum to the number of frauds reported by private sector banks, frauds in public sector banks were mainly in advances, it said.