The draft cybersecurity rules proposed by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) aims to curb online frauds, done using mobile phones, through mobile number validation. The draft rules want banks and other entities that use mobile numbers to identify their customers, called telecom identifier user entities (TIUE), to use a new Mobile Number Validation (MNV) platform of DoT.

Every time an entity needs to verify a phone number, for app sign-ups or digital payments, a fee must be paid to the government.

Entities authorised with DOT, such as banks, must pay ₹1.50 per verification, while others pay ₹3. Numbers flagged as fake or suspicious by the MNV platform will be deactivated for 90 days.

Companies must use this official checking system, and they no longer can use their own methods anymore.

Do the rules say each bank account needs its own unique phone number?

The rules don’t mention banks specifically, but the provisions make it difficult for multiple people to use the same phone number for different accounts. This is because each phone number is registered under the name and identity of a single individual. Now, if banks have to verify phone numbers frequently and pay fees each time, they might start requiring one phone number per account to avoid extra costs.

What this means in terms of your banking activities?

One family member can’t help another with mobile banking or use shared UPI accounts. You cannot help your grandparents with pension. Emergency money transfers will also become complicated if the “main” phone user isn’t available.

How will this hurt low-income families who share phone numbers?

Many low-income families have just one phone that everyone uses – grandparents for pension, parents for work and banking and children for school apps. If the government enforces these rules, family members might get locked out of their accounts as the platform considers multiple people using one number as “suspicious.” The rules essentially follow the principle of one mobile number per individual. Many families in India cannot afford this.

Particularly, families in villages with one smartphone will suddenly lose access to government welfare schemes. Migrant workers sharing phones in cities will lose access to money transfer apps. Women, who don’t own phones, get cut off from digital services. Elderly people dependent on family phones can’t check medical appointments.

How will this impact everyday life?

What seems like a simple rule could force many people to choose between family members who can have digital access, making everyday services more expensive and less accessible. Mothers can’t transfer money, children can’t access online classes. Domestic workers can’t receive digital payments because they use family phones. Telemedicine apps will block families from booking appointments and vaccination registration becomes harder for families sharing devices.

How are businesses hurt by these rules?

Small businesses get hit hardest. A small food delivery app with 10,000 customers could incur ₹30,000 monthly just to verify phone numbers. Startups already struggling to survive will now have huge new monthly bills.

Apps like food delivery platforms may pass on verification costs to customers as higher delivery fees. Online shopping, cab booking, bill payments will become more expensive.

Small and local businesses using digital payments will face extra costs which they may add to product prices. This means, your local grocery store may even stop accepting digital payments altogether. The same goes for your favourite neighbourhood restaurants.

Local service providers like plumbers, electricians, handy men may stop using booking apps. These extra costs of checking number will make it even harder for small businesses to compete with big companies that can afford the fees.

Published on July 31, 2025