A sharp rise in electronic transactions across the financial system has come with a heavy downside, as banks and customers lost N134.48 billion to confirmed fraud between 2020 and 2025.
Fresh data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the financial sector is grappling with rising fraud losses even as digital payments continue to dominate retail and commercial transactions nationwide.
The figures, contained in the apex bank’s Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document, reveal a financial ecosystem under increasing pressure from sophisticated fraud networks exploiting the expansion of digital banking, fintech platforms and instant payment infrastructure.
Over the six-year period, attempted fraud across Nigeria’s banking and payments landscape totalled N187.79 billion, indicating that the scale of criminal activity targeting the financial system extends significantly beyond actual losses recorded.
The data covers a wide range of channels, including Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), point-of-sale terminals, Internet banking platforms, mobile applications, e-commerce systems, cheque transactions and over-the-counter services, highlighting the systemic nature of the threat across both traditional and digital banking rails.
A breakdown of the figures shows a steady upward trajectory in fraud losses between 2020 and 2023 before a spike in 2024 disrupted the pattern and reshaped the risk outlook for the industry.
Losses rose from N11.61 billion in 2020 to N12.77 billion in 2021, before increasing further to N14.32 billion in 2022 and N17.67 billion in 2023. However, the most striking movement came in 2024, when losses rose to N52.26 billion, representing nearly 39 per cent of total fraud losses recorded over the entire six-year period.
That single-year escalation has become a defining reference point for regulators and financial institutions assessing the fragility of Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payments architecture.
According to the CBN, the 2024 spike was not primarily driven by widespread retail fraud across consumer channels but was instead heavily influenced by a major internal fraud case valued at approximately N30 billion.
The CBN noted that “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, adding that web-based fraud incidents alone rose by 169 per cent during the same period.
The CBN data highlights how fraud patterns have evolved alongside Nigeria’s payments revolution, which has seen mobile banking, fintech applications and instant transfers replace cash-based transactions at scale.
Attempted fraud, which tracks unsuccessful or intercepted criminal activity, rose from N13.26 billion in 2020 to N86.36 billion in 2024 before easing to N37.57 billion in 2025. Actual losses followed a similar trajectory, peaking in 2024 before declining to N25.85 billion in 2025.
The apex bank attributed the moderation in 2025 to improved regulatory controls, enhanced monitoring systems and stronger collaboration across financial institutions and payment service providers.
“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,” the report stated.
Beyond aggregate losses, the report provides insight into how fraud has migrated across different payment platforms as criminals adapt to evolving security frameworks.
In 2021, web-based fraud declined by 43 per cent, yet overall losses still rose due to a 276 per cent increase in point-of-sale fraud incidents. By 2022, ATM fraud rose by more than 2,000 per cent even as mobile, POS and web fraud declined, reflecting a shift in attacker focus toward previously under-protected channels.
In 2023, fraud losses climbed again by 23 per cent, driven largely by a rise in e-commerce-related fraud, which increased by 1,961 per cent. Mobile, POS and web channels also recorded moderate increases.
Nigeria’s accelerated adoption of electronic payments has been one of the defining structural changes in its financial system over the past decade. Instant transfers, mobile wallets and fintech-driven payment platforms have significantly improved financial inclusion and reduced transaction costs.
However, the expansion has also widened the attack surface for cybercriminals.
The CBN acknowledged in its policy framework that while digitalisation has enhanced efficiency and inclusion, it has simultaneously introduced new vulnerabilities requiring stronger cybersecurity architecture and consumer protection systems.
The Payments System Vision 2028 document positions fraud prevention and cyber resilience as central pillars of the next phase of Nigeria’s financial system development.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso noted in the foreword that Nigeria’s payments ecosystem has evolved into one of the most dynamic globally, driven by real-time transactions and fintech innovation, but stressed that the next phase of growth must prioritise resilience and trust.
Under the new policy direction, the CBN is expected to prioritise six key pillars including security, trust, innovation, interoperability, inclusion and collaboration.
Industry stakeholders interpret this shift as a recognition that payment system growth can no longer be measured solely by transaction volume or digital adoption rates, but also by the system’s ability to withstand increasingly sophisticated fraud threats.
Financial analysts argue that the 2024 fraud spike serves as a turning point for the sector, highlighting the need for deeper investment in fraud analytics, artificial intelligence-driven monitoring tools and stronger internal governance frameworks within financial institutions.
The prominence of a large-scale internal fraud case also raises questions about institutional controls and oversight mechanisms within parts of the banking ecosystem.
