Today we launch our .BANK’ers interactive map to promote the hundreds of banks that have demonstrated innovative leadership in their move from the entrenched, open space of .com to the gated and more secure .BANK domain; protecting their bank, and customers, from breaches, identity theft and financial fraud.

With 500 active banks in the domain, a number that increases weekly, .BANK has achieved something other new domains have struggled to do; by maintaining a large, active and growing base, years past launch. This success is a testament to the purpose and benefits of .BANK; a more secure space for online financial transactions and communications. While many of the 1,300+ new domains introduced since 2012 were created strictly with marketing in mind, .BANK, like .gov, was created to be a trusted, secure and authoritative space. It’s noteworthy that .BANK also helps with marketing by: identifying the institution as a bank, enhancing email deliverability and SEO, and providing banks with a powerful security message that customers can understand.

As phishing is a profitable and hard to trace/prosecute crime, attacks continue to increase in volume every year; up nearly threefold between 2017 and 2018 with a similar trajectory expected in 2019. Bad actors are also becoming more sophisticated; malicious links and attachments are less frequently used, and detecting fake emails has become significantly more challenging. As financial services is the most phished industry, it is critical that bank employees, customers and vendors can easily and immediately authenticate emails and websites from their bank.

Outside of the verified and gated .BANK domain, protection against phishing, the most common vector of attack, is limited to scanning attachments and links, and hoping that employees and customers recognize spoofed emails and websites. The .BANK domain adds a visual cue to a bank’s other layers of defense, clearly identifying bank emails and websites and dramatically simplifying the authentication process for bank employees and customers to prevent interactions that lead to identity theft, financial fraud and even breaches. 

Changing how companies and customers use the internet takes time, and in banking, an industry known for heightened diligence and prudence, it’s an even longer road. However, at 500 and growing active .BANK’ers, .BANK  is moving beyond ‘innovators’ and ‘early adopters’ towards the ‘early majority’ phase. With confidence having been established in the value and longevity of the .BANK domain banks are now joining the space at an increasingly rapid rate.

Schedule a .BANK Consultation to learn more about
.BANK,  and the best practices for an easy and affordable migration.