Nigeria’s expanding digital payments ecosystem has created new opportunities for financial inclusion and innovation, but it is also making the country’s financial system a more attractive target for sophisticated cybercriminals, according to industry leaders.
While speaking at the CWG Plc and Clari5 Anti-Financial Crime Summit themed ‘Strengthening Nigeria’s Anti-Fraud and AML Defence in the AI Era,’ experts said banks and regulators must rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to combat AI-enabled fraud, money laundering and financial crime.
The warning comes as Nigeria’s digital payments industry continues its rapid growth.
According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), electronic payment transactions reached over N1.07 quadrillion in 2024, a 79.6 percent increase from about N600 trillion in 2023, which reflects the country’s increasing shift toward digital financial services.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reports that the country has more than 230 million registered bank accounts, while fintech adoption continues to expand across retail and business payments.
