Digital payment fraud in Nigeria fell to N25.85 billion in 2025, representing a 51 per cent decline from N52.26 billion the previous year, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) has reported.

The figures were disclosed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, during the 2026 Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum Technical Kickoff Session in Lagos on Wednesday.

Addressing participants at the event themed ‘Shrinking Fraud Losses With ISO 20022 & Identity Management,’ Oiwoh noted that while the number of fraud cases has steadily declined over the past five years, the value of losses remains the key concern.

“Looking at industry fraud over the past five years, the number of cases has declined significantly. While case counts are important, what matters more is the value. 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.

Data presented at the forum showed that fraud incidents fell from 123,918 in 2021 to 67,518 in 2025, with a small four per cent decline in the last year. Geographically, Lagos accounted for 63.43 per cent of fraud activity, reflecting its role as Nigeria’s commercial hub. Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), recorded 3.12 per cent, while Ogun, Rivers, and Delta States contributed between 2.09 per cent and 2.51 per cent of total fraud volume.

E-commerce and internet banking remain the channels most affected, followed by point-of-sale, mobile, and web platforms. Oiwoh highlighted social engineering, particularly insider abuse, as the most prevalent fraud technique.

“Insider involvement is high, and recent investigations have confirmed this. Services such as SIM swap fraud, account compromise, and phishing continue to evolve. Awareness remains critical, as many victims are still easily deceived,” he said.

He stressed the importance of institutional controls, monitoring staff activity, and coordinated industry action. According to Oiwoh, joint industry measures last year prevented about N20 billion in potential losses. Despite this, fraud reporting fell by 34 per cent in the final quarter of 2025.

“While some institutions reported zero incidents, non-reporting is unacceptable.

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,” he added.

The forum also discussed the adoption of the ISO 20022 standard and identity management systems as tools to strengthen transaction security and reduce the risk of digital payment fraud.

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