Banks Lose N42.6bn To Fraud In Q2 – Agents

The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents  in Nigeria (AMMBAN) on Thursday   said Nigerian Banks lost N42.6 billion to fraudsters in Nigeria within the second quarter of 2024.

AMMBAN national president, Fasasi Sarafadeen Atanda quoting Financial  Institutions Training Center (FITC) said the losses were traced to  agent locations through the use of stolen cards, phones, fake alerts and ransom cash out.

Atanda, who made the disclosure at the  8th Annual National Conference of AMMBAN in Benin City, Edo State with the theme “Match Data With Actions”  said that to stem the tide AMMBAN has  introduced an automated verifiable identity card for agents and launched a Joint Task Force (JTF) in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), DSS, NSCDC and other security agencies.

According to him, “The 8th AMMBAN annual national conference is unique as it is meant to match data with actions.

Data on Access to Financial Inclusion: As at the last (EFInA) report in 2023, financial inclusion was at 64%.

“But on the ground, over 300 local government areas in Nigeria are without bank branches (AMMBAN Survey, 2024). While access to commercial banks are of concern. CBN recent regulation on mandatory BVN and/or NIN for owning an account or a wallet requires the presence of  bank branches, because they are majorly the structures enabled for BVN enrollment/modification.

Action From AMMBAN.

“AMMBAN introduced a one-stop shop for financial services, offering NIN, BVN, Account Opening, Card Issuance, Sim Registration, Savings, Credit, Insurance etc across the excluded local government areas.

Continuing, he said, “Data on Security:

Nigerian banks lost N42.6B to fraud in Q2, 2024 (FITC), and most were traced to agent locations through the use of stolen cards or phones, fake alerts, ransom cash out, etc.

“AMMBAN has indeed led the way of data to actions by turning our insights into inclusive financial solutions (NFIC, Agent QR-coded ID card, Agent Joint Task Force, AMMBAN cooperative, AMMBAN women wing etc).”

In his keynote address deputy governor Financial Stability, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Philip Ikeazor, represented by  Controller CBN Benin Branch ,Michael Mgbeze said that the Central  Bank aims  at advancing financial inclusion and building a robust and inclusive financial system that leaves no Nigerian behind.

He said the contribution of AMMBAN has been instrumental in ensuring that millions of Nigerians  particularly in the underserved communities now have access to financial services.