It was set up in the year 1994 as an apex level institute for spearheading technology absorption in the Indian Banking and the financial sector. It focuses on the training, research and development activities in the field of information technology. The commissioning of INFINET as the backbone for financial communication has been a major achievement for IDRBT.
IDRBT also acts as a Certifying Authority (CA) for issuance of digital certificates for players in the banking and financial sector. Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS), a secure and common domestic financial messaging solution for intra-bank and interbank applications, developed on the lines of SWIFT was the brainchild of IDRBT.