Financial institutions to move to .bank domains

ICAN has authoritised fTLD Registry Services to operate the new financial top level domain .bank, which is expected to be ready for use in 2015.

Verified banks will gain their own space on the web with the new domain, one of over a thousand being unleashed on the internet over the next few years. fTLD, founded and operated by the American Bankers Association, Financial Services Roundtable and other industry organizations, was established in 2012 to apply for and operate the domain when it became clear that ICANN would accept applicants for the .bank top-level domain.

“Operating ‘.bank’ is a key step towards providing consumers a more secure place to bank on-line, and it will a helpful tool in better protecting personal data,” said FSR president and CEO Tim Pawlenty.

The new domain will have enhanced levels of security and adhere to 31 strict standards developed by ABA and FSR. In addition to strict registration requirements, the new domain will help prevent users from being redirected to fake bank websites, help make it more difficult for criminals to create spoofed e-mails from a “.bank” domain, provide a higher level of encryption, and more.

“Our organizations took the lead on this to ensure that the banking industry — not outsiders — would operate ‘.bank,’ and that only legitimate members of the banking community could have a ‘.bank’ site,” said Frank Keating, ABA president and CEO. “We took this on in order to protect the interests of our industry and preserve customers’ trust in banking.”

When the .bank domain is available for registration, fTLD will have a website where banks will be guided through the registration process.

 

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