The Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced a new framework that forces banks and fintechs to speed up how they handle fraud complaints and refund victims.

Under this draft guideline, customers must report suspected fraudulent transactions within 72 hours, while financial institutions have a 16-working-day window to investigate and return funds.

The move follows a sharp rise in fraud across the financial system.

Data from the Financial Institutions Training Centre shows losses jumped to ₦3.29 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a staggering 603 percent spike compared to the previous year. Reported cases also rose to 12,347 during the same period.

The draft rules, dated November 26, 2025, aim to strengthen prevention, increase bank accountability, and speed up reimbursements.

The circular, signed by Rita Sike, director of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department, outlines tighter controls meant to stop fraud before it happens.

The guideline marks another step in the apex bank’s long-running campaign against financial fraud. In 2011, it created the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum to improve collaboration among operators.

Four years later, it instructed banks to set up dedicated fraud desks. In 2023, it strengthened Know Your Customer checks by insisting on BVN or NIN for account opening.

By 2024, it directed NIBSS to debit banks that received fraud proceeds.

The new framework builds on these reforms and is designed to close remaining gaps exploited by scammers.

Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud occurs when criminals deceive customers into willingly authorising transfers through WhatsApp, SMS, email, or other channels.

The CBN notes that such fraud often thrives due to weak controls, overlooked red flags, slow responses, or even staff collusion within financial institutions.

Victims must report incidents within 72 hours and provide details such as the transaction date, amount involved, and account information. Banks must acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours and begin investigations immediately.

During investigations, the CBN may instruct NIBSS or another settlement entity to withhold payments linked to suspicious transactions, including those passed through multiple institutions.

Banks have 14 working days to conclude investigations. If cases remain unresolved, customers can escalate them to the Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion Department. Once an investigation ends, refunds must be issued within 48 hours.

Where multiple institutions are involved in the transaction chain, the originating bank must notify others within 30 minutes and ensure resolution within 16 working days.

If a bank’s failure to act or weak systems contributed to the fraud, that institution bears the refund cost. Where neither banks nor the customer is at fault, the institutions involved will share refund responsibility equally.

Who qualifies for refunds

Customers qualify for refunds if they report promptly, cooperate fully, and are found not to have been negligent or complicit. They are not eligible if they acted carelessly, concealed facts, or reported after the deadline. Exceptions apply where delays were caused by illness, force majeure, unavailable reporting channels, or internal bank failures.

What banks must now put in place

To comply with the rule, banks must operate round-the-clock reporting channels, deploy early-warning systems, track suspicious behaviour, document fraud patterns, and report incidents to the CBN regularly. They must also run financial-literacy programmes to help customers recognise fraud attempts.

The draft guideline is open for public input for three weeks and will become binding once finalised, forming part of a broader effort to protect customers and steady Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.