Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and other financial institutions to significantly shorten their response time to electronic fraud incidents to under 30 minutes, as part of renewed efforts to curb rising losses in the country’s digital payments ecosystem.
Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, disclosed this at the 2026 Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Technical Kick-Off Session, where he also underscored the strategic importance of Nigeria’s ongoing migration to ISO 20022 in strengthening fraud detection and response capabilities
Ikeazor said the industry had reached a critical consensus on faster intervention as the industry has agreed to reduce fraud response times to under 30 minutes, a decisive step that materially improves recovery outcomes and limits systemic exposure.
According to him, delays in responding to fraud incidents often worsen losses and weaken public confidence in electronic payment channels.
He explained that while Nigeria has made significant progress in securing its payments infrastructure, fraud risks have evolved with increasing digitisation.
To address these challenges, the CBN is placing strong emphasis on the adoption of ISO 20022, describing it as a critical anti-fraud tool rather than a mere regulatory compliance exercise
