…But Mastercard’s fixing something
By Prince Osuagwu
Nigeria’s digital economy is expanding at an unprecedented rate. Electronic payment transactions crossed the N1 quadrillion mark in 2024, fintech adoption is accelerating, government services are moving online, and businesses are becoming increasingly digital. Yet, alongside this transformation is cybercrime, a growing threat that is quietly draining billions of naira from the economy.
The reality is stark. Every new digital service creates opportunities not only for innovation but also for cybercriminals. Banks, telecom operators, government agencies, oil companies, SMEs and ordinary citizens have all become targets.
However, no sector illustrates the cost of cybercrime more clearly than Nigeria’s financial services industry.
According to the latest report from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, financial institutions lost N52.26 billion to fraud and cyber-enabled financial crimes in 2024, up from N17.67 billion in 2023. The report shows a 196 per cent increase in losses over a five-year period.
The most common attack channels include: Internet banking fraud, Mobile banking fraud, Phishing attacks, SIM-swap fraud, Identity theft, Insider-assisted compromise and account takeover schemes, among others.
The fight against cybercrime is forcing Nigerian banks to spend heavily on technology and cybersecurity.
But, what is particularly worrying is that while the number of reported fraud incidents declined, the amount stolen increased dramatically, suggesting that cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and more successful in targeting high-value systems.
Industry experts say the growing dependence on digital channels means cybercriminals now follow the money into online platforms rather than traditional banking halls. NIBSS, however, disclosed that fraud losses fell significantly to about N25.85 billion in 2025, representing a decline of more than 50 per cent from the previous year. Fraud cases also dropped from 70,111 in 2024 to 67,518 in 2025.
A recent industry analysis showed that four leading banks prevented approximately N14.5 billion in attempted fraud losses during 2025 through investments in cybersecurity infrastructure, fraud detection systems, artificial intelligence tools and real-time monitoring technologies.
While banks receive the most attention, cyber threats are spreading rapidly across other sectors.
Telecommunications operators continue to battle network intrusions, customer-data theft, SIM-related attacks and service disruption attempts.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remain among the most vulnerable because many lack dedicated cybersecurity budgets or skilled security personnel.
But, what are software experts like Microsoft doing; are they not supposed to be fixing things to check these menace? From the response of Country Manager, Mastercard West Africa, Dr Folashade Femi-Lawal, it appears her company is monitoring the development and fixing some measures that not only rescue vulnerable entities, but also save the economy a great deal of loss.
She said: “Every year, cybercrime costs Africa close to 10% of its GDP. That is the real story behind every breach in the headlines, including the recent developments across Nigeria.
“Cybersecurity has moved out of the server room and into the boardroom. For governments, banks, fintech companies and the broader digital economy, it is no longer a technology line item. It is a business issue, a trust issue and an economic resilience issue.
“At Mastercard, we see this shift up close. In the last three years alone, our Safety Net technology has prevented close to $50 billion in fraud across our global network, and every 10 days, we assess the cybersecurity risk of 19 million entities.
“The lesson from that scale is simple. Threats are evolving faster than reactive defenses can keep up.
“That is why three things matter more than ever for leaders across financial services, fintech companies and digital commerce. Real-time intelligence at the executive level. Stronger collaboration across the ecosystem. And a culture where cyber awareness sits at the top of the decision-making table.
“This is the work we do every day. By bringing together advanced technology, threat intelligence and deep collaboration with governments, regulators and financial institutions, we help strengthen the trust that makes digital growth possible. Innovations like Mastercard Threat Intelligence are built for this moment, helping organizations anticipate risk and make sharper decisions when the stakes are highest.
“That commitment was recently recognized when Mastercard Threat Intelligence earned a Gold Award for Fraud Prevention at the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards.
“Closer to home, we convene the annual Cyber Resilience Forum in Nigeria alongside the Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads, because confronting these threats has to be a collective effort anchored in the markets where the stakes are highest.
“As Africa’s digital economy scales, resilience will come down to one thing. How early we see the threat, and how fast we act on it”.
She also added that for Mastercard, the strategy is always on, working alongside the institutions building Africa’s digital future to make every transaction more secure, every system more resilient and every customer more confident.
