Axis Bank Launches AI-Enabled Safety Centre, Achieves Nearly 25 percent Fraud Reduction

Axis Bank announced the launch of its new ‘Safety Centre’ on the Axis mobile banking app ‘open’. This security hub empowers customers with real-time, customer-controlled security features to safeguard their accounts against unauthorized or suspicious activities, without the need to call customer care or visit a branch.

The Safety Centre was conceptualized as a proactive shield against the growing menace of digital fraud. During the testing phase, the results were both encouraging and validating. 

Reduction In Fraud Cases

With the launch of the Safety Centre and complementary security features, “We observed nearly 25 percent reduction in reported fraud cases quarter-on-quarter (Q4 FY25 vs. Q1 FY26),” informed Sameer Shetty, Group Executive - Digital Business, Transformation & Strategic Programs, Axis Bank, speaking exclusively with FE CIO. This sharp decline clearly demonstrated that the Safety Centre is working as intended, helping customers take quick, real‑time action to protect their accounts from digital fraud.

The Safety Centre is powered by a robust combination of human expertise and advanced technology. “Our dedicated security teams work relentlessly to monitor, analyse, and respond to emerging threats, ensuring the platform remains agile and future-ready,” said Shetty. 

AI-Enabled Capabilities

On the technology front, the Safety Centre leverages “internal APIs and AI-driven capabilities to provide customers with real-time, fully controllable features—such as instantly disabling Internet Banking or UPI without requiring external support,” said Shetty.

In a separate announcement the bank said, the Safety Centre offers granular control over key digital banking functions, enabling customers to tailor security settings based on their usage and comfort. Key features include:

SMS Shield: An industry-first feature, it verifies the authenticity of SMS messages by checking the Sender ID against Axis Bank’s official IDs.

Turn off Internet Banking: Disable Internet Banking access completely if not required.

Stop Funds Transfer: Instantly restrict all fund transfer capabilities across Mobile Banking and Internet Banking with a single toggle.

Prevents Online Shopping using Net Banking: This feature also blocks transactions initiated through third-party apps (e.g. e-commerce platforms) that use Net Banking as a payment mode.

Stop UPI Payments: Restrict UPI transactions via the Axis Mobile App.

Prevent Addition of New Payees: Ensure funds can only be transferred to existing beneficiaries.

Set Limits for Fund Transfers & UPI: Define per-transaction limits for fund transfers and UPI payments; higher-value transactions will require an additional authentication.

Speaking on the launch, Shetty said, “The Safety Centre represents a decisive step in tackling the surge in digital frauds by giving customers real-time control over their banking security. We are continuously strengthening our safeguards through layered protection and advanced authentication features such as SMS Shield and In-App Mobile OTP, which ensure uninterrupted access while reducing dependency on external networks.”

This launch builds on Axis Bank’s Safe Banking initiative, which includes innovations such as ‘Lock FD’, preventing premature closure of fixed deposits via digital channels, and ‘In-App Mobile OTP’, generating time-based OTPs within the app to reduce SMS OTP-related frauds.