.hdfcbank New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: HDFC Bank Limited
Application Downloaded On: 24 Nov 2015
String: hdfcbank
Application ID: 1-1307-93169
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
HDFC Bank Limited
- Address of the principal place of business
HDFC Bank House, Senapati Bapat Marg
Lower Parel (West) Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400013 IN
- Phone number
+91 22 66521000
- Fax number
+91 22 24960739
- If applicable, website or URL
http://www.hdfcbank.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Kazi Jahid Ahmed
6(b). Title
Assistant Vice President
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+91 8939210007
6(e). Fax Number
(202) 223-9256
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Alpesh Koswala
7(b). Title
Manager Digital Marketing, HDFC Bank
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+91 7498242489
7(e). Fax Number
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Company Limited by Shares
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Companies Act 1956, India http://mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Companies_Act_1956_13jun2011.pdf
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
National_Stock_Exchange_of_India / HDFCBANK
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Name
Position
Aditya Puri Managing Director
Anami Narayan Roy Non-Executive Director
Ashim Samanta Non-Executive Director
Bobby Parikh Non-Executive Director
Chander Mohan Vasudev Non-Executive Chairman
Dr. Pandit Palande Non-Executive Director
Harish Engineer Executive Director
Keki Minoo Mistry Additional Director
Paresh Sukthankar Executive Director
Partho Datta Non-Executive Director
Renu Karnad Non-Executive Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Aditya Puri Managing Director
Rahul N Bhagat Country Head - Retail Liabilities, Marketing & Direct Banking Channels
Sashi Jagdishan Head Finance
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited Not Applicable
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
hdfcbank
14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry. An IDN table must include:
the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,
the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),
table version number,
effective date (DD Month YYYY), and
contact name, email address, and phone number.
Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.
15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
HDFC Bank Limited anticipates the introduction of this TLD without operational or rendering problems. Based on a decade of experience launching and operating new TLDs, Afilias, the back-end provider of registry services for this TLD, is confident the launch and operation of this TLD presents no known challenges. The rationale for this opinion includes:
- The string is not complex and is represented in standard ASCII characters and follows relevant technical, operational and policy standards;
- The string length is within lengths currently supported in the root and by ubiquitous Internet programs such as web browsers and mail applications;
- There are no new standards required for the introduction of this TLD;
- No onerous requirements are being made on registrars, registrants or Internet users, and;
- The existing secure, stable and reliable Afilias SRS, DNS, WHOIS and supporting systems and staff are amply provisioned and prepared to meet the needs of this TLD.
- OPTIONAL.
Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
About HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank is one of the premier private sector banks in India with its headquarters in Mumbai. HDFC Bank provides a wide range of banking products and services to a customer base of more than 21 million. The bank operates through its physical presence and distribution network spread in 1,174 cities across India and through web presence with its website www.hdfcbank.com
HDFC Bank has a Balance sheet size of Rs. 277,353 crores (USD 55.4 billion), Income of Rs. 24,263 crores (USD 4.8 billion) and Net Profit of Rs. 3,926 crores (USD 785 million) (All numbers as of Mar 31, 2011).
HDFC Bank is listed on some of the major stock exchanges across the globe
- Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE); Stock Code : 500180
- The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE), Stock Code : HDFCBANK
- The New York Stock Exchange, Ticker : HDB
- Luxembourg Stock Exchange
The Bank at present has an enviable network of 2,201 branches spread in 1,174 cities across India. All branches are linked on an online real-time basis. Customers in over 500 locations are also serviced through Telephone Banking. Being a clearing⁄ settlement bank to various leading stock exchanges, the Bank has branches in the centres where the NSE⁄BSE have a strong and active member base.
The Bank has prioritised its engagement in technology and the internet as one of its key goals and has already made significant progress in web-enabling its core businesses. In each of its businesses, the Bank has succeeded in leveraging its market position, expertise and technology to create a competitive advantage and build market share. HDFC Bank web site is one of the most visited Banking and Financial services web sites in India.
HDFC Bank has received a number of awards and recognitions for its outstanding financial performance and growth year on year. HDFC Bank has been recognised as the Strongest Bank in the Asia-Pacific Region by The Asian Banker in 2011. The bank has also featured amongst the elite group of ten companies identified by Harvard Business Review (HBR) as the companies that have consistently performed better than others around the world over a ten-year period. (http:⁄⁄hbr.org⁄2012⁄01⁄how-the-growth-outliers-do-it⁄ar⁄1). The bank has also won the Best Bank awards from a range of entities including Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2011 & CNBC TV18ʹs Best Bank & Financial Institution Awards, BloombergUTVʹs Financial Leadership Awards 2011 among others
Mission of .HDFCBANK
Currently, the web sites of HDFC Bank are registered under existing TLD“.com, .in, .net, .org”. The bank has an offering of more than 450 products and services across its various product portfolios like Accounts and Deposits, Investment Advisory services, Credit Cards, loans and so on. The customer has to search and locate the various products⁄ services by navigating through the web site of HDFC Bank. The various domains of the bank are formed basis products, services and regions. HDFC Bank has various domains like www.hdfcbank.com as the main web site, www.hdfcbankhongkong.com, the bank’s Hong Kong web site. www.hdfcbanksmartbuy.com, the portal for exciting offers and deals to bank’s credit and debits card customers, www.hdfcbanksmartapply.com, a portal dedicated to applying for bank’s asset products like Personal loan, Car loan and credit cards. Widespread possible naming conventions⁄ Cybersquatting in the existing TLDs may mislead any financial institutional customers to various phishing⁄ malicious web sites, leading to online fraud. HDFC Bank wants to have an exclusive ownership of a TLD, as it intends to have complete control on the second-level domain names to have “worldwide Uniform presence for the Brand HDFC Bank” and provide “Huge comfort level to customers”, web site by consolidating and simplifying their online identity.
Purpose of .HDFCBANK
HDFC Bank values the Internet as a strong medium to reach out to its customers. The bank offers more than 450 products and services and would like to create a strong association and increase visibility for all of these products by owning a brand TLD. HDFC Bank believes that owning a TLD (.HDFCBANK) for brand purpose exclusively, can lead to the following benefits:
- Increased global brand visibility
- Efficient brand and domain name protection
- Deeper customer engagement and increased long-term brand loyalty
- Easy navigation for customers
- Enhanced security thereby increasing the customer’s confidence for online banking⁄ virtual banking
- Intuitive Internet navigation (product.HDFCBANK, service.HDFCBANK, campaign.HDFCBANK)
- Effective tool to avoid cybersquatting⁄ phishing related costs
- Reputation Management
- Search Engine Marketing⁄ Optimization cost reductions
- Greater level of control over Internet presence with regards to costs, intellectual property and technical control
- Own- brand online community building
- Complete control over second level registration and use
- New business models⁄ opportunities
- Social Media Optimization
- Potentially decreases the risk of consumer⁄customer confusion
- Stronger marketing tool for creation of online campaigning
- Branded Top-Level Domains are like a warranty seal, thereby increasing the trust of the customer
A 21.9 million strong customer base accesses the web sites of HDFC Bank, either for managing their online banking accounts or accessing the information⁄ details about various products and services or for doing various transactions over payment gateways and so on, making it one of the most visited financial services web site in India
Every year HDFC Bank spends USD 15 million approximately on directing its audience to the correct web site, by the way of ATL andBTL (Below The Line) promotions through Newspapers⁄ Magazines, pamphlets, electronic medium (TV⁄ films etc.) and also by way of Exhibitions and Roadshows (Banners⁄ Holdings).
HDFC Bank plans to invest in this gTLD and acquire control over the .HDFCBANK string.
HDFC Bank will be using .HDFCBANK exclusively for its internal divisions. Currently, HDFC Bank has registered more than 50 domains in the “.com”, “.in”, “.net” and “.org” TLDs. Under these TLDs, HDFC Bank’s web site (www.hdfcbank.com), Enterprise e-mail service, International web site (www.hdfcbankhongkong.com), product web sites (www.hdfcbankinfinia.com), Debit and Credit cards engagement programme web site (www.hdfcbanksmartbuy.com) and others are covered.
It is being estimated that in the first year after .HDFCBANK is allotted to HDFC Bank, around 150 second-level domains will be registered; in the second- year around 400 and; in the third-year approx.. 700 second-level domains will be live.
In the first-year, priority will be provided to the existing domains of HDFC Bank. Our key products, transactional and informational web sites and microsites will be brought under the new gTLD of HDFC Bank. In the subsequent years, other existing domains and new domains of HDFC Bank will be also brought under the new gTLD of HDFC BANK.
For instance, the existing Internet Banking web site of HDFC Bank is netbanking.hdfcbank.com
The new second-level domain name of this web site would be www.netbanking.hdfcbank. Similarly, the car loan-related content will be placed on www.carloan.hdfcbank, www.creditcard.hdfcbank, will have our content of credit cards and details about debit cards can go on www.debitcard.hdfcbank etc. Similarly such second-level domains will be created under .hdfcbank for the wide range of products and services of HDFC Bank. This would not only enable the customer-base of more than 21 million to navigate all our financial services easily, but also extend a higher-level of confidence and trust to the customer on the authenticity of the accessed web site.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
- General goals
The registrants for the gTLD to be availed by HDFC Bank will be from the internal divisions of HDFC Bank, as the gTLD is proposed to be exclusively used by HDFC Bank. Due to this, only legitimate second-level domain names will be registered. Complete control over the TLD will significantly improve security by minimizing opportunities for phishing or distribution of Trojans⁄malware and other causes of online fraud.
Benefits to the registrants are as follows:
- Perception of enhanced security
- Perception of enhanced stability
- It is the perfect platform for global branding, marketing and visibility.
- As a perfect tool to promote brand
- Will be most likely Ranked high in search engines
- Reputation management
- Provides competitive edge
- Platform for innovation
- Linking products with a master brand (example: carloan.hdfcbank)
- Shorter URLs
- Phishing related costs⁄cybersquatting cost can be reduced to a large extent
- Excellent opportunity to secure online namespace
- Better target finite audiences through customized content
- How .HDFCBANK adds to the current space
Existing domain name of Internet Banking web site of HDFC Bank is netbanking.hdfcbank.com; following the delegation of .HDFCBANK to HDFC Bank, the second-level domain name of this domain will be www.netbanking.hdfcbank . Similarly, all car loan-related content and details would be made available under www.carloan.hdfcbank, the content of credit cards would be available under www.creditcard.hdfcbank, and details about debit cards would be available under www.debitcard.hdfcbank etc. Similarly such second-level domains will be created under the new gTLD of HDFC Bank, for the wide range of products and services of HDFC Bank .
- User experience goals
Further, users of .HDFCBANK will benefit by:
- Assurance to Internet users that they are interacting with a legitimate and an authentic web site.
- Potential decrease in the risk of customer confusion and furthermore minimization of the risk of various online frauds
- Deeper customer engagement
- Easy navigation for customers
- Enhanced security
- Enhanced stability
- Minimal dependency on search engines
Registry policies
As mentioned above in purpose .HDFCBANK will be used for HDFC Bank brand only. It will only be available to the registrants of HDFC Bank only (including the Sunrise period).
In general, domains will be offered for periods of one to ten years, but no greater than ten years. Initial registrations made in the Sunrise period may have a minimum number of years required. For example, there may be a policy that all Sunrise names must be registered for an initial term of at least one year.
The roll-out of our TLD is anticipated to feature the following phases:
- Reservation of reserved names and premium names, which will be distributed through special mechanisms (detailed below).
- Sunrise — the required period for trademark owners to secure their domains before availability to the general public. This phase will feature applications for domain strings, verification of trademarks via Trademark Clearinghouse and a trademark verification agent, auctions between qualified parties who wish to secure the same string, and a Trademark Claims Service.
- General Availability period — real-time registrations, made on a first-come first-served basis. Trademark Claims Service will be in use for the first 60 days after General Availability applications open.
The registration of domain names in the .HDFC BANK TLD will follow standard practices, procedures and policies, which include the following:
- Domain registration polices (for example, grace periods, transfer policies, etc.) are defined in response #27.
- Abuse prevention tools and policies, for example, measures to promote WHOIS accuracy and efforts to reduce phishing and pharming, are discussed in detail in our response #28.
- Rights protection mechanisms and dispute resolution mechanism policies (for example, UDRP, URS) are detailed in #29.
Other detailed policies for this domain include policies for reserved names.
Reserved names
There are two categories of reserved names for this TLD: registry reserved and premium names.
Registry reserved names
We will reserve the following classes of domain names, which will not be made generally available to registrants via the Sunrise or subsequent periods:
- All of the reserved names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement.
- The geographic names required in Specification 5 of the new gTLD Registry Agreement.
- The registry operator’s own name and variations thereof, and registry operations names (such as registry.tld, and www.tld), for internal use.
- Names related to ICANN and Internet standards bodies (iana.tld, ietf.tld, w3c.tld, etc.), for delegation of those names to the relevant organizations upon their request.
- The list of reserved names will be published publicly before the Sunrise period begins, so that registrars and potential registrants will know which names have been set aside.
Premium names
As mentioned above in purpose .HDFCBANK will be used for HDFC Bank brand Although the policy for premium names is defined, the same will not be applicable due to the defined TLD purpose.
The registry will also designate a set of premium domain names, set aside for distribution via special mechanisms. The list of premium names will be published publicly before the Sunrise period begins, so that registrars and potential registrants will know that these names are not available. Premium names may be distributed via mechanisms such as requests for proposals, contests, direct sales, and auctions.
For the auctioning of premium names, we intend to contract with an established auction provider that has successfully conducted domain auctions. This will ensure that there is a tested, trustworthy technical platform for the auctions, auditable records, and reliable collection mechanisms. With our chosen auction provider, we will create and post policies and procedures that ensure clear, fair, and ethical auctions. As an example of such a policy, all employees of the registry operator and its contractors will be strictly prohibited from bidding in auctions for domains in the TLD. The auction rules will cover all possible scenarios, such as how domains will be awarded if the winning bidder does not make payment.
Privacy and confidential information protection
As per the New gTLD Registry Agreement, we will make domain contact data (and other fields) freely and publicly available via a Web-based WHOIS server. This default set of fields includes the mandatory publication of registrant data. Our Registry-Registrar Agreement will require that registrants consent to this publication.
We shall notify each of our registrars regarding the purposes for which data about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to the Registry Operator by such registrar is collected and used, and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data (the data in question is essentially the registrant and contact data required to be published in the WHOIS). We will require each registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for the collection and use of such Personal Data. The policies will be posted publicly on our TLD web site. As the registry operator, we shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in any way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.
Our privacy and data use policies are as follows:
- As registry operator, we do not plan on selling bulk WHOIS data. We will not sell contact data in any way. We will not allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail, telephone, or facsimile of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations.
- We may use registration data in the aggregate for marketing purposes.
- DNS query data will never be sold in a way that is personally identifiable.
- We may from time to time use the demographic data collected for statistical analysis, provided that this analysis will not disclose individual Personal Data and provided that such use is compatible with the notice provided to registrars regarding the purpose and procedures for such use.
As the registry operator we shall take significant steps to protect Personal Data collected from registrars from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration, or destruction. In our responses to Question 30 (“SecurityPolicy”) and Question 38 (“Escrow”) we detail the security policies and procedures we will use to protect the registry system and the data contained therefrom from unauthorized access and loss.
Please see our response to Question 26 (“WHOIS”) regarding “searchable WHOIS” and rate-limiting. That section contains details about how we will limit the mining of WHOIS data by spammers and other parties who abuse access to the WHOIS.
In order to acquire and maintain accreditation for our TLD, we will require registrars to adhere to certain information technology policies designed to help protect registrant data. These will include standards for access to the registry system and password management protocols. Our response to Question 30, “Security Policy” provides details of implementation.
We will allow the use of proxy and privacy services, which can protect the personal data of registrants from spammers and other parties that mine zone files and WHOIS data. We are aware that there are parties who may use privacy services to protect their free speech rights, or to avoid religious or political persecution.
18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
HDFC Bank, has adopted the above-mentioned and other policies to ensure fair and equitable access and cost structures to the Internet community, including:
- no new burdens placed on the Internet community to resolve name disputes
- utilization of standard registration practices and policies (as detailed in responses to questions 27, 28, 29)
- protection of trademarks at launch and on-going operations (as detailed in the response to question 29)
- fair and reasonable wholesale prices
- fair and equitable treatment of registrars As per the ICANN Registry Agreement, we will use only ICANN-accredited registrars, and will provide non-discriminatory access to registry services to those registrars.
Pricing Policies and Commitments
Pricing for domain names at General Availability will be $0 per domain year. Applicant reserves the right to change this pricing for promotional purposes in a manner available to all accredited registrars. Registry Operator reserves the right to work with ICANN to initiate an increase in the wholesale price of domains if required. Registry Operator will provide reasonable notice to the registrars of any approved price increase.
Privacy Policy:
In line with the recognized International practice and for the information of customers and others who visit our HDFC Bank Limited web sites, we believe it is necessary to post a privacy statement. We understand that our customers and web site visitors are concerned about the privacy of information. We have established policies and procedures concerning the collection, use and security of users’ information that will help protect their privacy. Our privacy policies are designed to help us serve our customers⁄visitors while maintaining strict privacy and security standards. Customer confidentiality and privacy are of utmost concern to HDFC Bank Limited.
HDFC Bank Limited respects the privacy rights and interests of each person and will observe the following principles when processing sensitive ⁄ personal data:
(i) Data will be processed fairly and lawfully.
(ii) Data will be collected for specified and legitimate purposes and not processed further in ways incompatible with those purposes which have been duly explained, communicated to and consented to by each person concerned.
(iii) Data will be relevant to and not excessive for the purposes for which they are collected and used. For example, data may be rendered anonymous when feasible and appropriate, depending on the nature of the data and the risks associated with the intended uses.
(iv) Data will be kept only as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and processed and in accordance with data storage requirements under various applicable local laws.
(v) Data will be processed in having full regard to each person’s lawful rights (as described in these Standards or as provided by appropriate law).
(vi) All appropriate technical, physical, and organizational measures will be taken to prevent unauthorized access, unlawful processing, and unauthorized or accidental loss, destruction, or damage to data.
(vii) HDFC Bank Limited does not release customer information except as directed by law or as per your mandate.
We use information to:
- Comply with all applicable laws and regulations
- Help us design or improve our products and services for users benefit.
- Understand users’ needs so that we can provide quality products and superior services.
- To comply with laws, guidelines and regulations that govern the financial services in the country.
Privacy policy is subject to change periodically.