The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that banks and their customers lost a combined N134.48 billion to fraudulent activities between 2020 and 2025. This revelation underscores the mounting security challenges within Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payments ecosystem.
Fraud Attempts and Actual Losses
According to data from the CBN’s Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document, attempted fraud during the six-year period totaled N187.79 billion, while actual losses amounted to N134.48 billion. These losses were recorded across multiple payment channels, including ATMs, mobile banking, internet banking, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, e-commerce platforms, over-the-counter transactions, web channels, and other electronic payment systems.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
An analysis of the figures reveals a consistent upward trend in fraud-related losses over the years. Losses increased from N11.61 billion in 2020 to N12.77 billion in 2021, N14.32 billion in 2022, and N17.67 billion in 2023, before surging to N52.26 billion in 2024—the highest annual loss recorded during the period. The 2024 figure alone accounted for nearly 39 percent of the total N134.48 billion lost between 2020 and 2025.
Attempted fraud followed a similar pattern, rising from N13.26 billion in 2020 to N14.48 billion in 2021, N16.41 billion in 2022, and N19.72 billion in 2023, before jumping sharply to N86.36 billion in 2024. However, both attempted fraud and actual losses declined in 2025, dropping to N37.57 billion and N25.85 billion respectively.
Major Internal Fraud Case
According to the CBN, the sharp increase in fraud losses recorded in 2024 was largely driven by a major internal fraud incident involving N30 billion. “Fraud amounts in Internet Banking, Mobile, and POS channels declined, yet overall losses rose by 196 percent, primarily due to a major internal case involving N30 billion. Web fraud incidents also increased by 169 percent,” the report stated. The apex bank noted that the incident demonstrated how a single large-scale fraud case could significantly affect industry-wide loss figures despite improvements across several digital payment channels.
Changing Fraud Patterns
The report also highlighted evolving fraud patterns across the banking sector over the years. In 2021, web-based fraud declined by 43 percent, but overall losses increased due to a 276 percent rise in POS-related fraud incidents. In 2022, fraud losses rose by 12 percent, driven mainly by major fraud cases involving corporate accounts, while ATM fraud incidents surged by more than 2,000 percent despite declines across mobile, POS, and web channels.
By 2023, fraud losses increased by 23 percent, largely due to a sharp rise in e-commerce-related fraud. “Fraud losses rose by 23 percent, largely due to a spike in e-Commerce incidents, which escalated by 1,961 percent. Mobile, POS, and Web channels recorded moderate increases,” the CBN said.
Improvements in 2025
Despite the persistent threat, the regulator reported a significant improvement in 2025, attributing the decline in fraud losses to stronger controls and increased collaboration among stakeholders in the financial sector. “In 2025, electronic payment fraud declined by 51 percent, demonstrating the success of stricter regulations, increased industry cooperation, enhanced prevention strategies, and improved monitoring,” the document stated.
The CBN said it had strengthened oversight of the payments ecosystem and introduced collaborative safeguards aimed at reducing vulnerabilities across digital payment platforms. The findings come as Nigeria continues to witness rapid growth in electronic payments, driven by increasing adoption of instant transfers, mobile banking services, fintech platforms, and digital wallets.
CBN Governor’s Remarks
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso, in the foreword to the Payments System Vision 2028 document, said Nigeria’s payments ecosystem has become one of the most dynamic and innovative globally, powered by real-time payment systems, digital adoption, and fintech-driven transformation. He noted that while digitalisation has expanded financial inclusion and reduced transaction costs, it has also introduced new risks that require stronger cybersecurity measures, improved fraud monitoring, and enhanced consumer protection.
Under the Payments System Vision 2028 framework, the CBN plans to focus on security, trust, innovation, interoperability, inclusion, and collaboration while strengthening cyber resilience and deploying emerging technologies to tackle increasingly sophisticated fraud threats.
