Collective action key to tackling financial sector fraud - BoG

Bank of Ghana (BoG) disclosed its 2025 Fraud Report during a one-day media sensitisation held in Accra on Wednesday. The report contained a rise in fraud cases within the Payment Service Providers (PSPs) segment of Ghana's financial sector, while banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions (SDIs) recorded declines. Stakeholders in Ghana's financial sector identified deeper collaborations among regulators, financial institutions and service providers, the public and media as a necessary measure to address the growing fraud, lately driven by the payment services industry.

The report recorded a rise in fraud cases across banks, SDIs and PSPs from 16,733 in 2024 to 24,778 in 2025, with the total value at risk increasing from GHS99 million to GHS101m. Staff involvement in fraud across banks and SDIs declined from 365 cases in 2024 to 219 in 2025, representing a 40 per cent reduction, leading to 34 per cent of implicated staff being dismissed. In the banking sector, fraud cases fell by 34 per cent, from 716 in 2024 to 472 in 2025 as the value at risk also dropped by 24 per cent, from GHS75m to GHS57m. Cash suppression emerged as a major threat, accounting for GHS40.7m, largely due to a single outlier case involving GHS36m fraud incident. E-money fraud rose by 32 per cent to GHS4.6m, and fraudulent withdrawals more than doubled to GHS3.97m. Automated Teller Machine (ATM)/ Point of Sale (POS) fraud declined by 41 per cent.