New '.bank' internet domain launches this week

Banks will start to use the new internet domain ".bank" this week, promising higher levels of security for their customers.

The .bank domain will be available for registered users from Wednesday.

The domain was created by fTLD Registry Services, which was set up by the American Bankers Association and the Financial Services Roundtable.

A number of industry organisations, including the Australian Bankers Association and the Insurance Council of Australia, have endorsed fTLD's work.

fTLD has also set up a ".insurance" domain, which is still in development.

fTLD said in a media release that it has received more than 700 applications for .bank domains. A spokesman for the company said several Australian banks have signed up for a .bank domain.

The idea of .bank is to allow banks to offer their customers higher levels of security. fTLD describes the domain as a "more secure space on the internet for members of the global financial services community and the consumers they serve."

fTLD will verify applicants' financial services licences to ensure that only legitimate members of the banking industry are awarded domain names.

Security enhancements include "domain name system security extension" to ensure that internet users are landing on their financial institution's actual website, email authentication to limit phishing and other fraud, and multi-factor authentication to ensure that changes to domain registration details are made by authorised users only.

Verification services have been contracted to Symantec. The operation of the generic .bank top-level domain has been contracted to Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

fTLD managing director Craig Schwartz said in a statement: ".bank domain will signify that an institution has been verified as legitimate and committed to implementing security requirements that go beyond existing standards to protect customer information."