New Zealand Banks Demand New Domain To Combat Phishing
Clearly New Zealand bankers are steadfast in their opinion that phishing is a big problem for their nation’s banking industry. The Office of the Domain Name Commissioner has turned down New Zealand bankers’ request for a "banks only" second level domain (2LD) twice before but that didn’t stop the New Zealand Banker’s Association from petitioning for a .bank.nz domain name for a third time.
The proposal would allow New Zealand-licensed banks such as Westpac to use domains that include ".bank.nz". Westpac, which is currently hosted at westpac.co.nz, would be able to use westpac.bank.nz instead.
Interested parties can view the Association's application here (pdf file). At present, the DNC seems to be putting the issue before the people. Comments are being solicited on the organization’s website to see what the public thinks about the validity of the petition.
So far the reviews are mixed. There are some supporters who say, “Anything to make banking safer!” while other are steadfast believers that .bank.nz won’t provide any added protection from phishers and scammers. They say other measures, not a new second level domain, need to be implemented to increase online banking security. The comment time period ends on March 29, 2007.
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