Checking rising bank fraud

It has been revealed that Nigerian banks and their customers lost not less than N134.48billion to fraud between 2020 and 2025 amid expansion in digital payments and adoption of financial technology across the country. This was obtained in statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document.

The document also indicated that attempted fraud across the banking sector’s payment system was N187.79billion, while actual losses amounted to N134.48billion. The losses occurred in over-the counter transactions, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), cheques, e-commerce platforms, Internet banking, Point of Sale (POS) terminals, web channels and others.

According to the CBN data, fraud losses increased from N11.61billion in 2020 to N12.77billion in 2021 and N14.32billion in 2022. It also rose to N17.67billion in 2023 and to N52.26billion in 2024. The data showed that the 2024 figure accounted for about 39 per cent of the N134.48bilion lost between 2020 and 2025.

At the same time, attempted fraud jumped from N13.26billion in 2020 to N14.48billion in 2021, N16.41 in 2022 and N19.72billion in 2023 as well as N86.36billion in 2024. The data also showed that attempted fraud and actual losses reduced in 2025 to N37.57billion and N25.85billion, respectively.

We bemoan the rising bank fraud that led to the loss of a whopping N134.48billion over a period of five years. It underscores the systemic failure of necessary checks in the banks multiple payment channels. Insider abuse can also not be ruled out in some of these frauds or attempted ones. We enjoin banks to review their staff recruitment procedure, especially the recruitment of their IT personnel. The reliance on contract staff or temporary workers must be urgently reviewed. There is need for adequate background checks on all bank workers.

Apart from transforming commerce in Nigeria, the rise of instant mobile banking, fintech applications and POS terminals may have created avenues for fraudulent practices. From internet banking and e-commerce platforms to ATMs and over-the-counter channels, no entry point is safe. The rapid rush toward digital transformation in the banking industry has left critical security gaps in its wake. In the fierce competition to capture market share, banks have prioritised speed, convenience, and seamless user experiences over security.

Unfortunately, technology has also made it easier to commit financial fraud. The CBN and other stakeholders should strengthen oversight functions of the banks and come up with safeguards to protect depositors’ money. Let the banks invest in more advanced technology to secure their digital payment channels. Let the banks install real-time fraud tracking system.

This has become imperative because financial inclusion cannot thrive in an environment of fear of fraud in the banking system. More frauds in the banks will take more people away from the banking halls and the system. Instructively, technological upgrades reportedly ensured 51 per cent drop in electronic payment fraud in 2025 following tighter regulatory enforcement and industry cooperation. Security cannot be treated as a secondary operational cost.

We reiterate that banks must implement rigorous employee profiling, mandatory job rotations, lifestyle audits, and stringent access boundaries to curb insider collusion in such frauds. Regulatory directives requiring institutions to drop fraud response and recovery times to under 30 minutes must be strictly enforced to intercept funds before they are moved across secondary accounts.

Platforms like the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System must harmonise real-time data tracking across all deposit banks and digital-first fintechs to freeze illicit destination accounts instantly. The N134.48 billion lost over these five years is a wake-up all on the banks and other stakeholders to priotise the security of their digital payment channels. Those involved in bank fraud must be apprehended and diligently prosecuted, while the convicted are adequately sanctioned in line with the laws of the land.

We call on all financial institutions to invest heavily in advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms capable of behavioural biometrics. The banks’ security systems should be made to signal if a transaction pattern deviates from a customer’s historic behaviour, and lock the account before the damage is done.

The banking industry must treat insider threat management as a top-tier security priority. This means implementing stricter zero-trust internal access controls, continuous monitoring of employee activities and severe legal consequences for compromised staff.