Three of Nigeria’s biggest banks lost $1.56 million to fraud in 2025

Nigeria’s biggest banks are processing record volumes of digital payments, but this is also increasing their exposure to fraud. 

Access Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) lost a combined ₦2.13 billion ($1.56 million) to fraud and forgery incidents in 2025, according to an analysis of their audited financial statements.

Most of the incidents were electronic, with the total number of fraud incidents declining by 15.03% in 2025. However, the amount extracted per successful attack increased, indicating that fraudsters are becoming more efficient at exploiting banks’ vulnerabilities.

The three banks lost an average of ₦44,454 ($32.65) per fraud incident in 2025, up from ₦40,488 ($29.74) in the previous year. 

The amount linked to fraud incidents declined by 0.87% to ₦10.29 billion ($7.56 million). 

Only 20.66% of that amount became actual losses, suggesting the three banks were able to recover or block part of the stolen funds before settlement.

The numbers highlight that while faster payments create new revenue opportunities for banks and fintechs, they are also widening the attack surface for cybercriminals. 

Data from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that there were 67,518 fraud-related incidents in 2025 alone.

On an individual level, Access reported that electronic fraud cases fell 47.74% to 5,931, but cash theft, representing only 26 incidents, and contributing 14.31% to total losses.

At UBA, electronic fraud accounted for 99.91% of the 26,400 fraud cases it recorded in 2025. Fraudulent transfers alone accounted for 35.99% of actual losses—the single largest fraud channel by value.

GTCO disclosed that the amount linked to fraud incidents increased 30.05%. Actual fraud losses rose 69.34%, despite a 0.48% decline in total fraud cases.

These losses are absorbed by the banks, and stricter verification requirements and tighter transfer controls for customers are imposed. 

Instant payments reached ₦284.99 trillion ($209.34 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, according to  NIBSS. Four commercial banks, GTCO, UBA, First Bank of Nigeria, and Zenith Bank, processed ₦286.19 trillion ($210.22 billion) through their mobile apps in 2025.

As transaction volumes rise, banks have to spend more money to protect their infrastructure. Collectively, Access Holdings, GTCO, and UBA spent ₦280.90 billion ($206.33 million) on technology investments in 2025, including cybersecurity systems, fraud-monitoring tools, customer-authentication infrastructure, and transaction-security upgrades.

Regulatory push  

Banks have to render monthly returns on fraud and forgeries to the CBN, according to section 24 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020. According to  NIBSS, fraud reporting fell by 34% in the final quarter of 2025.

Beyond that, the apex bank is increasingly mandating banks and fintechs to move from simply processing transactions to actively policing them. 

Banks are now expected to verify customers more aggressively, monitor transactions in real time, including using artificial intelligence, detect suspicious device activity, and absorb the consequences of fraud failures. 

In 2025, the CBN directed  NIBSS to begin debiting institutions that receive proceeds from fraudulent transactions. The regulator also tightened onboarding requirements, including mandatory liveness verification and device-binding measures designed to limit account takeovers and identity fraud. 

Telecom operators are also increasingly being pulled into fraud enforcement as regulators push for real-time phone-number risk flagging and broader data-sharing frameworks between telcos and financial institutions.

When financial institutions fail to comply with anti-fraud controls, they face sanctions. In 2025, the CBN fined Access Holdings ₦138 million ($101,366) for inadequate Know Your Customer controls linked to fraud cases.

For now, Nigeria’s banking system remains financially resilient. Access, GTCO, and UBA held ₦71.06 trillion ($52.19 billion) in customer deposits at the end of 2025, with actual fraud losses representing just 0.003% of deposits.

But as digital payments scale deeper into the economy, fraud is becoming embedded as a hidden operating cost of Nigeria’s cashless transition, one that banks, customers, telecom operators, and regulators are increasingly being forced to pay.

Note: exchange rate used: ₦1,361.4/$