Nigeria’s bank customers lost a cumulative N134.48 billion to fraud between 2020 and 2025, according to data contained in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recently released Nigeria Payments System Vision 2028 document.
- +Bank customers lose N134.48 billion to fraud in six years – CBN
An analysis of the report by Nairametrics shows that while fraud losses generally trended upward over the six-year period, 2024 marked a turning point with an unprecedented spike in losses before regulatory interventions and industry collaboration helped drive a significant decline in 2025.
An analysis of the report by Nairametrics shows that while fraud losses generally trended upward over the six-year period, 2024 marked a turning point with an unprecedented spike in losses before regulatory interventions and industry collaboration helped drive a significant decline in 2025.
The report revealed that attempted fraud transactions amounted to N187.79 billion during the six-year period, with fraudsters successfully siphoning N134.48 billion across banking and payment channels including ATMs, internet banking, mobile banking, point-of-sale terminals, e-commerce platforms, web channels, cheques and over-the-counter transactions.
The CBN data showed that fraud-related losses increased from N11.61 billion in 2020 to N12.77 billion in 2021, representing a 10% rise.
The report noted that web fraud incidents also rose sharply by 169% in 2024, contributing to the overall increase in losses.
In contrast, 2025 recorded a significant improvement. Fraud losses declined to N25.85 billion from N52.26 billion, translating to a 50.5% reduction year-on-year.
The CBN attributed the improvement to stricter regulations, enhanced monitoring systems, increased industry collaboration and stronger fraud prevention measures across the financial services sector.
Beyond the headline figures, the report highlighted how fraud patterns evolved as criminals exploited vulnerabilities across different payment channels.
The findings suggest that fraudsters continuously adapt their methods in response to technological changes and evolving consumer payment behaviour, forcing financial institutions to strengthen controls across multiple channels simultaneously rather than focusing on a single threat vector.
Against the backdrop of rising fraud risks, the CBN’s Payments System Vision 2028 places cybersecurity, consumer protection and risk management at the centre of the country’s digital payments strategy.
In the document, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso said the framework is designed to create a payments ecosystem that is secure, inclusive and resilient while supporting innovation and economic growth.
Abdullahi noted that initiatives such as contactless payments, open banking, regulatory sandboxes and the Central Bank Digital Currency would be expanded under the framework, while emerging technologies would be deployed to improve security, interoperability and user experience across payment platforms.
He added that sustained collaboration among banks, fintechs, regulators and payment service providers would be critical to building a payments ecosystem that is innovative, resilient and capable of supporting Nigeria’s broader economic transformation.
Nairametrics earlier reported that financial institutions in Nigeria lost N52.26 billion to fraud in 2024, according to a report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
This was a significant increase of N34.59 billion compared to the N17.67 billion recorded in 2023.
Although the annual fraud count reported decreased by 31%, from 101,624 in 2020 to 70,111 in 2024, the amount lost to fraud grew by 350%, rising from N11.61 billion to N52.26 billion within the same period.
