TRAI to mandate ‘1600’ series for all bank calls
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HYDERABAD: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has moved to curb fraudsters posing as bank staff and draining customer accounts by extracting one-time passwords and netbanking details.
TRAI on Wednesday announced that all commercial banks, public, private and foreign must make customer calls only from the ‘1600’ number series from January 1, 2026.
NBFCs, mutual funds get phased deadlines
The regulator also issued staggered rollout schedules for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and mutual funds to adopt the same number series.
All mutual funds and asset management companies must comply by February 15, 2026, while qualified stockbrokers have been given time till March 15, 2026.
Small finance banks, cooperative banks given separate timelines
- Large standalone primary dealers, payments banks and small finance banks must shift to the ‘1600’ series by February 1, 2026.
- Remaining NBFCs, cooperative banks, regional rural banks and smaller financial entities must comply by March 1, 2026.
- Central record-keeping agencies and pension fund managers must adopt the series by February 15, 2028.
- TRAI said it is in discussions with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to finalise a compliance date for insurance companies.
- The regulator added that all entities governed by the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority must adhere to the new number series within their respective deadlines.
- According to TRAI, the ‘1600’ series was introduced to boost customer trust, reduce spam and prevent fraud committed through voice calls.
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