Fraud across Ghana’s financial sector rose sharply in 2025, driven largely by a surge in electronic fraud within the Payment Service Provider (PSP) sector, according to the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 Fraud Report.
The report revealed that total reported fraud cases across banks, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) and PSPs increased by 48 percent, rising from 16,733 in 2024 to 24,778 in 2025. The total value at risk also edged up to GH¢101 million from GH¢99 million recorded the previous year.
PSP Sector Drives Industry-Wide Increase
The central bank attributed the rise in fraud cases almost entirely to the PSP sector, noting that fraud has increasingly migrated to digital payment platforms in line with the rapid growth in electronic transactions and relatively lower levels of digital literacy among some users.
Fraud incidents reported by PSPs rose by 54 percent to 24,124 in 2025 from 15,673 in 2024. The value at risk in the sector also nearly doubled, increasing by 95 percent from GH¢19 million to GH¢37 million.
Banks Record Decline in Fraud Cases
Unlike the PSP sector, banks recorded a significant improvement in fraud indicators during the year.
Reported fraud cases fell by 34 percent to 472 in 2025 from 716 in 2024, while the value at risk declined by 24 percent to GH¢57 million from GH¢75 million. The report identified ATM/POS fraud, fraudulent withdrawals, cash suppression, cyber fraud, and document forgery as the most common fraud types recorded by banks.
SDIs See Fewer Cases but Higher Financial Exposure
Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions also recorded fewer fraud incidents in 2025, with cases dropping by 47 percent from 344 to 182.
Despite the decline in the number of cases, the value at risk increased by 77 percent to approximately GH¢8 million, largely due to a few high-value cases involving forgery and manipulation of documents.
Four-Year Trend Shows Shift Towards Digital Fraud
The report showed that fraud has steadily increased across the financial sector over the past four years.
Total fraud cases rose from 15,164 in 2022 to 24,778 in 2025, while the industry’s total value at risk increased from GH¢82 million to GH¢101 million over the same period. According to the Bank of Ghana, this trend reflects the migration of fraud from traditional banking channels to digital financial services.
The Bank of Ghana said addressing the evolving fraud landscape will require closer collaboration among financial institutions, regulators, law enforcement agencies and the public.
It stressed that as digitalisation continues to reshape Ghana’s financial sector, strengthening fraud prevention systems, enhancing customer awareness and improving regulatory oversight will be essential to safeguarding confidence in the financial system.
