Nigerian banks and their customers lost a combined N134.48 billion to fraud between 2020 and 2025, underscoring the growing security challenges facing the country’s rapidly expanding digital payments ecosystem.
The figures are contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 (PSV 2028), which revealed that fraudsters attempted to steal N187.79 billion during the six-year period, with N134.48 billion successfully lost across various payment channels.
The losses were recorded across multiple channels, including internet banking, mobile banking, Point of Sale terminals, ATMs, e-commerce platforms, over-the-counter transactions, web channels and other electronic payment systems.
An analysis of the figures shows a steady increase in fraud-related losses over the years. Banks and customers lost N11.61 billion in 2020, N12.77 billion in 2021 and N14.32 billion in 2022. The figure rose to N17.67 billion in 2023 before surging to N52.26 billion in 2024, the highest annual loss recorded during the period.
The 2024 loss represented nearly 39 per cent of the total amount lost within the six-year period and exposed significant vulnerabilities within parts of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
According to the CBN, the sharp rise was largely linked to a major internal fraud incident involving N30 billion.
The report noted that the development demonstrated how a single large-scale fraud case could significantly distort industry-wide statistics despite improvements in several electronic payment channels.
Before the 2024 spike, fraud patterns had shifted across different platforms. In 2021, web-based fraud reduced significantly, but losses still increased due to a sharp rise in Point of Sale-related fraud incidents. In 2022, corporate account compromises and ATM-related fraud contributed to higher losses, while 2023 witnessed an explosion in e-commerce fraud cases.
The apex bank disclosed that fraud losses increased by 23 per cent in 2023 after e-commerce fraud incidents surged dramatically.
Despite the alarming figures, the regulator said 2025 recorded a major turnaround. Fraud losses dropped from N52.26 billion in 2024 to N25.85 billion in 2025, representing a 51 per cent decline.
The CBN attributed the improvement to stronger regulations, increased industry collaboration, enhanced monitoring systems and improved fraud prevention mechanisms.
The findings come at a time when Nigeria is witnessing unprecedented growth in electronic payments, fintech services and digital banking adoption.
The regulator noted that digitalisation has expanded financial inclusion and reduced transaction costs but has simultaneously created new cybersecurity and fraud risks requiring stronger safeguards.
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso recently unveiled the Payments System Vision 2028, describing Nigeria’s payments ecosystem as one of the most dynamic and innovative in the world.
The framework seeks to deepen financial inclusion, strengthen payment security, improve cyber resilience and deploy emerging technologies to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud threats.
Industry analysts say achieving the CBN’s target of near-zero fraud losses will require sustained investment in cybersecurity infrastructure, consumer education, stronger identity verification systems and real-time fraud monitoring across the financial sector.
