CBN Orders Faster Fraud Response as Access, Zenith, UBA Cut Recovery Time to 30 Minutes
- Nigeria's banks have reduced fraud response times to under 30 minutes to combat increasing digital threats
- Central Bank of Nigeria emphasizes the need for coordinated, data-driven fraud responses amid evolving challenges
- Integration of BVN and NIN enhances identity verification, strengthening Nigeria's financial system against fraud
Nigeria’s biggest banks, including Access Bank, Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA), have agreed to reduce fraud response times to under 30 minutes, following a strong push by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The move is expected to significantly improve fund recovery, reduce customer losses and limit systemic risk across the financial system.
Source: Getty Images
The disclosure was made on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, by Philip Ikeazor, deputy governor of the CBN in charge of Financial System Stability, at the 2026 Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Technical Kick-Off Session held in Lagos. He was represented at the event by Ibrahim Hassan.
According to Ikeazor, faster response time is now critical as fraud schemes grow more complex and move at digital speed.
Old frauds fade, new threats rise
Ikeazor said Nigeria’s banking industry has made progress in neutralising older forms of fraud, such as ATM card cloning, largely through EMV chip-and-PIN standards and improved controls.
However, he warned that newer threats have rapidly taken their place. These include online fraud, social engineering attacks, SIM-swap abuse, insider compromise and authorised push payment (APP) scams, where customers are manipulated into approving fraudulent transfers.
“These evolving threat vectors require faster, coordinated and data-driven responses across the industry,” he said.
NeFF, according to Ikeazor, has been central to aligning banks and payment providers against these risks.
NeFF’s growing role in fraud control
Over the years, NeFF has driven several industry-wide interventions aimed at tightening controls and protecting consumers.
These include mandatory two-factor authentication, regular fraud advisories, nationwide public awareness campaigns, the creation of 24/7 bank fraud desks and the recent rollout of a Standardised APP Scam Framework.
“Importantly, the industry has agreed to reduce fraud response times to under 30 minutes, a decisive step that materially improves recovery outcomes and limits systemic exposure,” Ikeazor said.
BVN, NIN begin to deliver results
A breakthrough in Nigeria’s fraud-fighting effort, Ikeazor noted, is the country’s expanding identity management infrastructure.
The introduction of the Bank Verification Number, alongside its growing integration with the National Identification Number, has sharply reduced impersonation and synthetic identity fraud.
Enhanced identity verification across banking platforms, agent networks and high-risk digital channels is steadily closing loopholes long exploited by criminals.
Ikeazor described identity infrastructure as a foundational pillar for payment system integrity, with the National Identity Management Commission remaining a key partner.
ISO 20022 boosts traceability and detection
Beyond identity, Ikeazor highlighted the industry’s migration to ISO 20022 messaging standards as another game changer.
The standard allows richer and more structured transaction data, improving traceability, analytics and early fraud detection.
As banks and payment infrastructure operators complete implementation across RTGS and instant payment systems, investigations are expected to become faster and more precise.
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“This alignment with global standards positions Nigeria to confront sophisticated fraud schemes with modern tools,” he said.
Fraud losses must fall in 2026
According to a report by BusinessDay, despite gains in system resilience and uptime, Ikeazor warned that electronic fraud losses have risen sharply in recent years and must be reversed.
He urged the industry to set clear, measurable fraud-reduction targets backed by round-the-clock monitoring, real-time identity verification, stronger telecoms collaboration, structured liability frameworks and transparent performance scorecards.
“What gets measured must be improved,” he said.
NeFF’s decade of collaboration
In her opening remarks, Rakiya O. Yusuf, director of the Payments System Supervision Department and chairman of NeFF, said the forum has, over the past decade, provided a trusted platform for regulators and industry players to jointly strengthen Nigeria’s payments ecosystem.
She said sustained collaboration has delivered measurable reductions in fraud in earlier years and preserved public confidence, especially as digital transactions expanded rapidly under the cashless policy.
Source: Getty Images
Recent gains, she added, have been reinforced by the BVN and NIN integration, which has closed long-standing identity gaps across banking and agent networks.
Scammers hack Nigerian bank, steal N10 billion
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered an additional 30-day freezing of 818 bank accounts suspected of being involved in the alleged proceeds of crime from an N10 billion cyberattack on Hope Payment Service Bank.
The order, which the Inspector General of Police authorises, was granted by the court presided over by Justice James Omotosho on Monday, October 15, 2024. The court relied on a motion ex parte filed by the police.
According to the motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1358/2024, filed against James Akagwu Isaac, Akwubo Gosent, and others, including several banks, the IGP’s legal team said that the accounts via which the defendants were alleged to have received the crime proceeds were under investigation, hence the freeze.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
