Banks and their customers lost a combined N134.48bn to fraud between 2020 and 2025 amid a significant expansion in digital payments and financial technology adoption across the country, according to data contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document.

The document, obtained by The PUNCH from the apex bank’s website, showed that attempted fraud across the banking and payments ecosystem amounted to N187.79bn during the six-year period, while actual losses stood at N134.48bn.

The losses were recorded across multiple payment channels, including over-the-counter transactions, Automated Teller Machines, cheques, e-commerce platforms, Internet banking, mobile banking, Point of Sale terminals, web channels and other electronic payment platforms, highlighting the growing challenge of safeguarding Nigeria’s increasingly digital financial system.

An analysis of the data showed that fraud losses increased steadily from N11.61bn in 2020 to N12.77bn in 2021 and N14.32bn in 2022. The figure rose further to N17.67bn in 2023 before surging dramatically to N52.26bn in 2024, the highest annual loss recorded within the six-year period.

The 2024 figure alone accounted for nearly 39 per cent of the total N134.48bn lost between 2020 and 2025, showing the scale of the fraud challenge faced by banks, payment service providers and customers.

Similarly, attempted fraud climbed from N13.26bn in 2020 to N14.48bn in 2021, N16.41bn in 2022 and N19.72bn in 2023 before jumping to N86.36bn in 2024. However, both attempted fraud and actual losses declined in 2025, falling to N37.57bn and N25.85bn, respectively. The report attributed the sharp rise in fraud losses in 2024 largely to a major internal fraud case involving N30bn.

According to the document, “Fraud amounts in Internet Banking, Mobile, and POS channels declined, yet overall losses rose by 196 per cent, primarily due to a major internal case involving N30bn. Web fraud incidents also increased by 169 per cent.”

The apex bank noted that the trend demonstrated how a single large-scale fraud incident could significantly distort industry-wide loss figures despite improvements in several digital payment channels.

Before the 2024 spike, the report showed that fraud patterns had evolved across different payment platforms.

In 2021, web-based fraud declined by 43 per cent, but losses still increased because of a 276 per cent rise in Point of Sale fraud incidents. In 2022, fraud losses rose by 12 per cent, driven largely by major fraud incidents affecting corporate accounts, while ATM fraud surged by more than 2,000 per cent despite declines in mobile, POS and web channels.

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The report further revealed that fraud losses in 2023 increased by 23 per cent, largely due to an explosion in e-commerce-related fraud cases. “Fraud losses rose by 23 per cent, largely due to a spike in e-Commerce incidents, which escalated by 1,961 per cent. Mobile, POS, and Web channels recorded moderate increases,” the CBN stated.

Despite the persistent fraud threat, the regulator said the industry recorded a notable improvement in 2025 following stricter controls and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders.

The document stated, “In 2025, electronic payment fraud declined by 51 per cent, demonstrating the success of stricter regulations, increased industry cooperation, enhanced prevention strategies, and improved monitoring.”

It added that the Central Bank of Nigeria, working alongside industry stakeholders, had strengthened oversight and introduced collaborative safeguards aimed at reducing vulnerabilities across payment platforms.

The findings come as Nigeria experiences an unprecedented shift towards electronic payments, with instant transfers, mobile banking, fintech applications and digital wallets becoming central to daily commercial activities.

In the foreword to the Payments System Vision 2028 document, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said Nigeria’s payments ecosystem had evolved into one of the most dynamic and innovative in the world over the past decade, driven by real-time payments, digital adoption and fintech-led transformation.

Cardoso said the country had recorded significant growth in electronic payments and digital financial services under the previous Payments System Vision 2025 framework but stressed that the next phase would require stronger resilience and coordination as the system continued to expand.

The CBN acknowledged that while digitalisation has improved financial inclusion and lowered transaction costs, it has also created new risks that require stronger cybersecurity measures, consumer protection mechanisms and fraud-monitoring systems.

Under the new Payments System Vision 2028, the regulator plans to prioritise security, trust, innovation, interoperability, inclusion and collaboration as guiding principles for the next stage of payments system development. The framework also seeks to strengthen regulatory oversight, improve cyber resilience and deploy emerging technologies to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud threats. (The PUNCH)

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