Quote from Emeka on May 12, 2026, 12:17 pm

Vanguard reports today that four of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks have successfully blocked over N14.5 billion in fraudulent transactions over the last twelve months. This achievement is attributed to massive investments in AI-powered cybersecurity systems and biometric verification tools that can detect suspicious patterns in real-time.

The banks—Access, Zenith, GTBank, and UBA—have reportedly increased their “tech budgets” by an average of 45% since 2025. This spend has been directed toward building “fraud-immune” ecosystems that protect both individual accounts and corporate treasuries from the rising wave of sophisticated phishing and “identity-theft” attacks.

Despite these successes, bank executives warn that the “arms race” between banks and cybercriminals is far from over. As banks implement better security, fraudsters are turning to “social engineering” tactics, such as impersonating bank officials to trick customers into revealing their security credentials over the phone or via messaging apps.

The Central Bank has praised the banks for their proactive stance, noting that a secure financial system is a prerequisite for a stable economy. The apex bank is currently working on a unified “cyber-threat sharing platform” that will allow all financial institutions to collaborate on identifying and neutralizing new threats as they emerge.

https://businessday.ng/technology/article/how-tech-spend-helps-four-banks-block-n14-5bn-fraud-losses-in-2025/