E-Financial
Banks Lose N159Bn to e-Fraud
Mrs. Christabel Onyejekwe, executive director, Business Development, Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlements Systems, (NIBSS Plc), has said that Nigerian banks have lost a total of N159 billion to electronic fraud between 2000 and first quarter of 2013.
Onyejekwe, quoted recent research data on e-fraud in Nigeria by the Financial Institutions Training Centre ( FITC) and said the staggering figure is a deterrent to improving the consumer confidence and adoption of Nigeria’s cashless strategies, stressing increased efforts must be mounted to checkmate the menace.
Analysing the annual e-fraud trend in the banking industry since 2000 till date, Onyejekwe, in an interview with National Mirror, said that the figure stood at N1.65 billion in 2000; N3.12 billion in 2001; N8.20 billion in 2002, but declined to N5.13 billion in 2003 while in 2004, the figure moved up to N89.43 billion.
Also, in 2005 and 2006, the efraud declined to N6.76 billion and N2.74 billion losses to the banks while in 2007, the figure spiraled to N8.51 billion.
The year 2008, according to her, marked a watershed in the trend of e-fraud, as Nigerian banks recorded the highest losses to the tune of N34.50 billion.
The successful switch from magnetic stripe the of Automated Teller Machines, ATM, cards in 2009 to a more secure Chip and PIN cards led to a drastic reduction in e-fraud to the tune of N21.72 billion with a further decline to N14.96 billion in 2010.
In 2011, Onyejekwe said the figure increased again to N24.43 billion; and declined again to N10.06 billion at the end of 2012 while, in first quarter of 2013 alone, cases of bank e-frauds were valued at N7.5 billion.
She said: “All these figures listed from 2000 till the first quarter of this year amount to approximately N159 billion losses in the system.
She, however, projected that for this year, if recorded fraud at the end of first quarter is N7.5 billion, “extrapolated expected fraud at the end of the year would be N7.5 billion multiplied by four and this will be N30 billion.
But something has to be done to reduce this trend.” She explained that the fraud cases come in various types, which include card not present, card skimming, physical attacks on ATM machines, card trapping and others.
According to her, in the past three years, 62 per cent have experiences cases of card not present fraud type; 48 per cent have experienced card skimming fraud; 33 per cent have witnessed physical attacks on their ATM machines; 10 per cent have recorded card trapping while not less than 20 per cent of the banks have recorded other forms of e-fraud on their systems.
Titan Trust Bank has selected Oracle FSS for its core and digital banking technology, it is understood.
The start-up bank recently obtained its license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It’s understood that Temenos and Infosys also competed for the deal.
The shortlist came down to the two most widely installed international core systems in Nigeria, Infosys’ Finacle and Oracle FSS’s Flexcube.
The Nigerian banking sector has seen a great deal of upheaval over the years, with many mergers, start-ups and closures. Flexcube is a well respected name since the late 1990s (the pioneer was Access Bank, now one of the country’s top five banks) and has been a commonly selected platform since then.
The new bank is believed to be one of five to have gained regulatory approval of late (Globus Bank is another).
Local media sources say the new licences stem from the Central Bank’s desire to attract new investments into the sector and better serve the country’s 50 million+ unbanked and under-banked citizens.
Titan Bank is said to be headed by a former executive director of Heritage Bank (which is a Finacle user).
Oracle FSS did not respond to request for comment.
International Monetary Fund (IMF), has appointed Tony Elumelu, Nigerian billionaire and group chairman of Heirs Holdings, owners of United Bank of Africa, to its advisory council on entrepreneurship and growth, convened by Kristalina Georgieva, the fund managing director.
The announcement was disclosed in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, the IMF advisory council comprises global business leaders, policymakers, and academics dedicated to identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship.
The IMF said Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurship is central in policy making.
“Elumelu, Africa’s leading advocate of entrepreneurship and whose Foundation has funded, mentored, and trained over 25,000 African entrepreneurs since 2015, champions entrepreneurship as the engine for the economic transformation of Africa,” the statement reads.
“A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu’s embracing of entrepreneurship is fundamental to his concept of Africapitalism, his belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments that deliver social and economic value.
“Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is central to global economic policy making.”
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the advisory council on March 26, Georgieva said the appointees would share their experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies “can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity — key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth”.
Africa’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, fintech industry, scaling remittances, and cross-border payments will be the driving forces behind the continent’s digital ballooning payments system, which is estimated to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.
This is according to a MasterCard-commissioned study by Genesis Analytics, which states that the digital payments economy is growing faster on the continent.
This comes as the World Bank says Sub-Saharan Africa has shown significant growth in financial inclusion over the past decade, much of it driven by mobile money account adoption.
Dimitrios Dosis, president, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at MasterCard, comments: “Africa is filled with immense possibilities, and its people have the potential to shape the global economy in the decades ahead.
“MasterCard remains deeply committed to driving digital transformation across the continent, working closely with entrepreneurs, merchants, banks, start-ups, telcos, and governments. By increasing our investments, expanding innovation, and fostering inclusion, we are helping build a more connected and accessible digital future.”
The payment technology company went on to say as a longstanding technology partner to Africa, its continues to strengthen its commitment to the continent’s digital growth through strategic investments, public-private partnerships, and innovation initiatives that drive financial health and economic growth.
In addition, it says trends in Africa signal a strong shift towards digital transactions, with businesses and consumers increasingly embracing contactless solutions, further accelerating economic participation and financial accessibility across the region.
“For over five decades, MasterCard has worked alongside African governments, businesses, and communities to advance financial inclusion and economic development.
“With Africa projected to host nine of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies, we are focused on leveraging our expertise and a technology to support the continent’s continued digital transformation.
“Our investments today will help build a more resilient economy for the future,” says Mark Elliott, division president, Africa, MasterCard
By fostering collaboration with key stakeholders, MasterCard says it aims to enhance digital connectivity, expand economic opportunities, and enable millions of people and businesses to thrive in the digital economy.
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