TRAI's Digital Consent Pilot: A Step Towards Safer Banking Communication

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has initiated a groundbreaking pilot project in collaboration with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transition users' paper-based consents to a digital platform. This move aims to clamp down on financial fraud through enhanced verification processes for calls and messages.

Focusing initially on the banking sector due to its high sensitivity and prevalence of financial fraud from spam communications, this digital consent system is set to revolutionize how consumer consents are acquired, stored, and verified. Previously collected consents, often offline or unverifiable, will now be digitized, facilitating easier verification processes.

Under the 2018 Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, entities can communicate commercially with consumers if they have explicit consent. The pilot, running under a Regulatory Sandbox framework, will test various facets required for a scalable, secure digital consent ecosystem, reflecting TRAI's commitment to consumer protection and trust in legitimate communications.

(With inputs from agencies.)