{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/trai-uniform-otp-format-scams","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/trai-uniform-otp-format-scams.md","title":"TRAI Weighs Uniform OTP Format to Curb Fraud","headline":"TRAI Considers Standard OTP Message Format Across Banks and Platforms","description":"TRAI is weighing a standard OTP message format for banks and platforms, as financial fraud complaints reached 2.402 million in 2025.","section":"Regulation & Approvals","published_at":"2026-10-20T04:10:54+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-20T04:10:54+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["TRAI has discussed a standard OTP SMS template with telecom operators and is expected to issue a consultation paper.","Financial fraud complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal rose to 2.402 million in 2025 from 262,000 in 2021.","Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI, said standardization should not extend to fixing the digits in OTPs."],"companies":[{"name":"TRAI India","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0008ji4/trai-india","website":"http://trai.gov.in"}],"source":{"publisher":"TradingView","title":"Trai plans uniform OTP format to curb scams","url":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/moodys:92e7ff4a9f742:0-trai-plans-uniform-otp-format-to-curb-scams/"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Regulation & Approvals","TRAI India"],"body_markdown":"[TRAI](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0008ji4/trai-india) is considering standardizing one-time password message formats across banks, online platforms and other companies, after discussing the proposal with telecom operators in a few meetings. The telecom regulator's plan may mandate details such as the purpose of the OTP, the sender and the validity span, [TradingView](https://www.tradingview.com/news/moodys:92e7ff4a9f742:0-trai-plans-uniform-otp-format-to-curb-scams/) reported on October 20.\n\n## What TRAI Has Discussed With Operators\n\nOne person familiar with the discussions said the proposal to standardize OTP SMS templates has been discussed with telecom operators in a few meetings, and that TRAI is also expected to come up with a consultation paper on the same. A format of the OTP has also been proposed, the person added.\n\nA second person said the plan could involve mandating the purpose for which the OTP was generated, the origin or sender of the message, and the validity span for the number. Queries emailed to TRAI and the Cellular Operators Association of India on Monday did not elicit any response till press time. COAI represents private telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea.\n\nOTP message formats currently differ from one company to another. Some messages display the OTP directly on the screen, while others require users to open the full message to access the code. Standardized formats can help prevent codes from appearing in message previews.\n\nAccording to the home affairs ministry, financial fraud complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal rose to 2.402 million in 2025 from 262,000 in 2021, and the amount involved increased to Rs.22,495 crore from Rs.551 crore over the period. There were no specific numbers on frauds related to OTP misuse.\n\n## Why Experts Question the Plan\n\n\"It appears to be an unnecessary exercise but there is no harm in standardization of OTP templates if it is benefiting users,\" said Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI. Gupta said standardization of OTP SMS content would not lead to major tweaks in companies' systems, but the regulator should not micromanage fixing the digits in the OTPs, as that can increase compliance costs and technical difficulties.\n\nFaisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at Techarc, said the effectiveness of such a system will depend on whether the format includes features users can reliably verify, rather than just bringing a uniform template. Kawoosa said standardization will help users, especially new ones, recognize genuine OTP messages, but the challenge would be that the template could get copied by scamsters and that companies not based in India would need to be convinced to follow it.\n\n## TRAI's Earlier Consumer Measures\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), TRAI released revamped versions of its TRAI DND and TRAI MySpeed mobile applications in February 2026, the first major update in 10 years, adding multilingual interfaces, simplified complaint registration, 'Know Your Sender' header verification, dual SIM support, and latency, jitter and packet loss measurement capabilities. In December 2025, TRAI launched a Digital Consent Management Pilot with nine telecom operators and eleven major banks regulated by RBI, SEBI and IRDAI, enabling consumers to manage, review and revoke consent for promotional calls and SMS messages through a digital platform.\n\n## Next Steps for TRAI India\n\nTRAI is expected to come up with a consultation paper on the OTP template proposal, according to one of the people cited by TradingView. The regulator already requires companies sending bulk SMS, including OTPs, to register their message templates with telecom operators, which check messages against approved templates before delivery.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}