Nigeria digital payment fraud dropped by 51% to N25.85bn in 2025, NIBSS reports, reflecting a sharp fall from N52.26bn in 2024

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has reported a 51 per cent decline in digital payment fraud in 2025, with losses falling to N25.85 billion from N52.26 billion in 2024.

Also read: Tonto Dikeh Warns TikTok Impersonator Over Online Fraud

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, disclosed the data on Wednesday during the 2026 Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum Technical Kickoff Session held in Lagos, themed “Shrinking Fraud Losses With ISO 20022 & Identity Management.”

Oiwoh explained that while the number of fraud cases has steadily declined over the past five years, the monetary value remains the key concern.

“In 2023, actual losses stood at about N17.67 billion. In 2024, losses rose to N52.26 billion, largely driven by a single fraud incident of N31.1 billion involving one entity. In 2025, losses dropped significantly,” he said.

Fraud case counts have decreased from 123,918 in 2021 to 67,518 in 2025. Geographically, Lagos accounted for 63.43 per cent of fraud activity, followed by the Federal Capital Territory with 3.12 per cent.

Other affected states include Ogun, Rivers, and Delta, each recording between 2.09 per cent and 2.51 per cent of total incidents.

By channel, fraud remains most prevalent in e-commerce and internet banking, followed by point of sale, mobile, and web platforms.

Social engineering continues to be the dominant technique, with insider abuse cited as the greatest threat.

Oiwoh highlighted the importance of internal controls and coordinated industry action, noting that measures taken in 2025 prevented potential losses of around N20 billion.

He also raised concerns over underreporting, which fell by 34 per cent in the last quarter of 2025, allowing some fraudsters to move undetected between institutions.

Also read: ARCON Disowns AI-generated Tinubu Ad as Misleading Fraud

“Reporting enables tracking and investigation. In several cases investigated last year, individuals involved in fraud simply moved to other institutions because incidents were not reported,” Oiwoh added.