Access Bank, Others Lost N1.9bn To Fraud In 2021– Report

The fraud suffered by Access Bank Nigeria Plc rose and other third parties rose by N890m in the 2021 financial period from N1.01bn in 2020 to N1.9bn.

This is based on analysis of data provided by the bank in its audited financial statement for the full year 2021.

Electronic transaction and e- banking have grown exponentially over the years, especially with the new order introduced by the Covid-19 in 2020.

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) said Nigeria’s adoption of the several electronic channels continued to rise as N271.95trn worth of transactions were recorded on its platform in 2021 compared to N158.21trn that changed hands on the platform in 2020.

Transactions via mobile channels increased significantly by 164.4 per cent in 2021 to N8.06trn as against N3.05trn recorded in 2020.

But the NIBBS had warned that “the increase in transaction processing, speed and available channels comes with an unavoidable side effect– more vectors for fraudulent activities.”

NIBSS had said that fraud-related transactions cost Nigerian banks an average loss of N14bn yearly.

Access Bank is among many other banks that share from the fraud arising from the massive adoption of e-channels.

The bank financial report analyzed by THE WHISTLER revealed that out of the N1.99bn loss incurred from fraud and forgery incident, a total of N126.7m was lost by the bank, while other third parties lost N1.86bn.

“The actual loss that was incurred by the Bank for the year is N126.71m. The rest of the loss amount represents the losses incurred by other third parties,” the bank said.

When compared to the exposure of the bank to fraud and forgery, the result shows a N971.9m increase.

The amount means that Access Bank and its third parties exposure rose by 48.87 per cent between 2020 to 2021.

Access Bank also stated that electronic fraud and foreign exchange transactions accounted for 64.4 per cent of the loss.

The bank and it third parties lost N319.9m fraudulent transfer/withdrawals in 2021.

Fraudulent cash lodgment during the period according to the bank was N228.5m.

The report said N112.3m was lost as a result of armed robbery operations, while N39.7m was lost to cash theft, suppression and pilferage during the period.