E-Financial
37 Percent of Users in Nigeria Lost Money from an Incident Involving Digital Payments
According to the Kaspersky Digital Payment survey, 37% of respondents from Nigeria experienced financial losses associated with threats when using online banking and mobile wallet services.
The majority of users (97%) lost up to USD $1,000 equivalent as a result of these incidents, while 3% of the respondents reported a loss of more than USD $1,000 equivalent.
According to the Kaspersky Security Network, 161,272 financial threats were blocked in Nigeria by Kaspersky in 2022.
These attacks were aimed at stealing financial information such as credit card numbers and login credentials and usually rely on social engineering tactics to lure victims.
However, the impact of a cyber threat targeting digital payments does not just impose a financial burden on consumers, but also affects them psychologically. For example, 60% of respondents from Nigeria said that they lost sleep and were very anxious about getting their money back.
43% of users reported that they have less trust in digital payment providers. 80% also stated that they became more vigilant after experiencing a cyber incident, and 65% installed security solutions like an antivirus on their infected devices.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic 64% of users in Nigeria faced at least one incident when using digital payments. That’s why it’s increasingly important to know how to interact securely with any emerging technologies, including online banking and mobile wallet services.
“And all stakeholders, like government, digital payment providers, users and even cybersecurity companies need to come together to create a sustainable and secure payment ecosystem,” said Emad Haffar, Head of technical experts at Kaspersky.
To help users embrace digital payment technologies securely, Kaspersky experts suggest the following:
- Do not share your PIN, password or any other financial information with anyone online or offline.
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi to make any online transactions.
- Use a separate credit or debit card to make online transactions. Set a spending limit on the card which can help keep a track of financial transactions.
- Shop from trusted and official websites
- Use a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Premium on all your devices which are used for financial transactions. It helps to detect fraudulent or suspicious activity and check the security of visited websites.
For developers, banks and companies involved in providing digital payment services, Kaspersky recommends:
- Invest in holistic cybersecurity solutions that can help detect fraud across multiple levels of online payment processes and consumer touchpoints.
- Complex attacks by APT groups on financial institutions are also on a rise. In-depth visibility and threat intelligence are a necessity to keep customers protected and to ensure business continuity. Using the Kaspersky Threat Intelligence service is helpful to support your IT teams in analysing and mitigating threats.
- Conduct cyber awareness training for employees continuously. This will help employees know the red flags to look for when an organisation is under attack and to understand their role in protecting the organisation.
PalmPay, one of Africa’s leading digital financial services companies, is considering a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after attaining a valuation of more than one billion dollars, according to a Bloomberg report.
PalmPay
The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the fintech company was also seeking to raise between 150 million dollars and 200 million dollars in fresh funding ahead of a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO).
According to the sources, the additional capital is expected to support PalmPay’s next phase of expansion across Africa and selected Asian markets.
If completed, the IPO would rank among the most significant public market debuts by an African fintech company and could encourage other technology firms on the continent to explore listings beyond the traditional financial centres of London and New York.
Founded in 2019, PalmPay has emerged as one of Africa’s fastest-growing consumer fintech platforms, providing digital payments, money transfers, savings, lending and merchant payment solutions.
The company has established its strongest market presence in Nigeria while expanding operations into Ghana, Tanzania and Bangladesh as part of its international growth strategy.
PalmPay says it currently serves more than 35 million registered users and supports over one million businesses and merchants, processing millions of transactions daily.
Its rapid growth has positioned it among Africa’s leading fintech firms, alongside companies such as Flutterwave, Moniepoint, OPay, Wave and Onafriq.
Unlike many technology startups that have prioritised rapid customer acquisition over profitability, PalmPay reportedly achieved profitability in 2025, a development analysts say could enhance investor confidence as the company prepares for another fundraising round and an eventual stock market listing.
The report noted that Hong Kong could offer strategic advantages for PalmPay due to its strong commercial ties with Asian investors and the company’s growing presence in emerging Asian markets.
PalmPay’s early investors include Transsion Holdings, the maker of the Tecno, Infinix and itel smartphone brands, as well as investors linked to NetEase and MediaTek.
Industry analysts believe these long-standing relationships could make Hong Kong a natural destination for PalmPay’s public listing while broadening access to investors already familiar with its business model.
The company’s IPO plans come as venture capital investment in African startups has slowed considerably since the record funding years of 2021 and 2022, prompting many technology firms to focus on profitability, stronger balance sheets and sustainable long-term growth.
Against that backdrop, PalmPay’s proposed fundraising and listing are expected to serve as an important test of international investor appetite for profitable African fintech companies.
The company’s valuation also underscores the resilience of Africa’s digital payments sector, driven by rising smartphone adoption, expanding internet access and increasing demand for cashless transactions across the continent.
Although PalmPay has yet to make a final decision on either the fundraising or the IPO timetable, the reported preparations indicate that the company is positioning itself for its next phase of growth.
Industry observers say a successful Hong Kong listing could provide fresh momentum for Africa’s technology sector and create an alternative pathway for high-growth startups seeking access to global capital markets.
Hackers have hit the database of Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions, stealing customers’ information.
Zenith confirmed the attack in an email to customers on Tuesday.
The bank said the hackers accessed limited customer information, “including email addresses and phone numbers, during a cyberattack that forms part of a broader global attack on organisations across different sectors”.
The lender stressed that the incident involved only limited customer information, adding that its banking services and digital channels remain secure and fully operational.
The bank said it is investigating the attack, noting that its incident response protocols and other cybersecurity measures were immediately activated after the breach was discovered.
“As a precaution, we encourage our customers to remain vigilant against phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls, and to never disclose their password, PIN, One-Time Password (OTP), or other security credentials to anyone,” the bank said.
Zenith Bank said it remains committed to protecting customers’ information and thanked them for their continued trust, adding that investigations into the incident are ongoing.
In August 2024, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) reported experiencing a similar incident.
The commercial bank said there were attempts to compromise its website domain, but customers’ data was not affected.
The latest attack comes months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned the public of cyber hack attempts to gain access to personal accounts of Nigerians.
The CBN said the hackers were circulating fraudulent messages and emails falsely claiming to originate from the bank.
According to the financial regulator, there were misleading messages circulating, designed to deceive Nigerians and compromise their personal information.
The regulator said the fake communications, which include emails and online messages, often prompt recipients to click suspicious links while spreading false claims about the bank’s leadership, licensing activities, and policy decisions.
Nigerians lost N25.85 billion to digital payment fraud in 2025, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Though the figure represents a significant decline from the N52.26 billion recorded in 2024, CBN, said the losses remained substantial for payment service providers (PSPs).
According to the report, although the value of digital payment fraud declined significantly year-on-year, when compared to the N52.26 billion recorded in the previous year, the losses remained substantial for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), underscoring the need for stronger fraud prevention measures across the industry.
In the report, the CBN, also identified systemic risks, cyber threats, the dominance of a few systemically important payment service providers, and the activities of unlicensed payment companies as major concerns confronting the financial sector.
According to the report, although the value of digital payment fraud declined significantly year-on-year, the losses remained substantial for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), underscoring the need for stronger fraud prevention measures across the industry.
“Digital payment fraud in Nigeria stood at N25.85 billion in 2025,” the apex bank said.
It noted that while this represented a considerable improvement from the N52.26 billion lost in 2024, the amount remained significant.
“Though this was lower than N52.26 billion in the preceding year, it represented a substantial loss for PSPs,” the report stated.
The CBN attributed the reduction in fraud losses to enhanced security measures implemented across the financial sector.
It said, “The lower losses in 2025 reflected improvements in monitoring, BVN-NIN integration, and tighter controls.”
Beyond fraud, the report warned that Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payments landscape faces increasing systemic vulnerabilities as banks and fintech companies become more interconnected through shared payment infrastructure.
According to the report, a major operational failure involving a single payment service provider could quickly spread across the financial system because of the growing dependence on integrated payment platforms.
The CBN observed that despite ongoing efforts to strengthen payment system integration, interoperability remains a significant challenge.
It disclosed that about half of fintech stakeholders continued to express dissatisfaction with the current level of system-wide interoperability.
The report stated that “about 50.00 per cent of fintech stakeholders continued to rate system-wide interoperability as poor, primarily due to the lack of universal APIs and data-sharing standards.”
The apex bank also expressed concern over the concentration of payment activities among a few Systemically Important Payment Service (SIPS) providers, warning that operational failures involving any of them could have widespread consequences.
It explained that the failure of such providers could trigger a “domino effect”, where insolvency or operational glitches in one payment service provider spread rapidly to others, disrupting the smooth functioning of the financial system.
Cybersecurity also featured prominently among the risks identified in the report.
The CBN warned that payment service providers remain vulnerable to ransomware attacks, data breaches and credential theft, noting that cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in targeting financial institutions.
According to the report, “Banking and fintech institutions remained prime targets for ransomware, data leaks, and credential theft.”
It added that, “Cyber threats in Nigeria are no longer random cybercrimes, but increasingly targeted, organised, and identity-driven campaigns.”
The report further cautioned Nigerians against transacting with unlicensed payment companies, stressing that such entities operate outside regulatory oversight and expose users to significant financial risks.
It warned that customers using unlicensed PSPs are not protected by existing regulatory safeguards and that such operators could facilitate illicit financial activities.
“Users of unlicensed PSPs are not covered by regulatory protection that comes with effective oversight and supervision,” the CBN said.
It further warned that, “Unlicenced payment companies are gateways for money laundering which could undermine regulatory efforts and corrode public trust.”
The report underscores the growing importance of strengthening fraud detection systems, improving payment infrastructure interoperability, enhancing cybersecurity resilience, and intensifying regulatory oversight as Nigeria continues to expand its digital payments ecosystem.
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