The United Bank for Africa has called for sustained vigilance and a strong fraud-prevention culture as it rounded off the 2025 Fraud Awareness Week.

This call was made at the grand finale of the week-long activities on Friday, held at the UBA House in Lagos and themed “Combating Fraud-Risk & Cybertheft in Digital Banking.”

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, global champion of the week, the Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, organisations lose an estimated five per cent of their revenue annually due to fraud. Fraud takes many shapes and forms, among them corporate fraud, consumer fraud, tax fraud, identity theft, and many others.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA, Oliver Alawuba, who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance & Risk Management, Ugochukwu Nwaghodoh, in his opening remarks, said that fraud prevention was not a one-off event but a culture.

“It strengthens trust and protects customers. This year’s activities have all deepened and deterred fraud at every customer touch point. As we close this week, let us uphold UBA’s integrity across the countries of operations. Let us continue to lead the industry. Stay alert, stay safe, and let us stop fraud together.”

The acting Chief Internal Auditor of UBA, Kayode Ajayi, said, “The fight against fraud in UBA is progressive, and it is a good fight. I want to encourage all of us to join the fight. One of the challenges we have in Nigeria is ownership. We have decided to own the fight. We have the will and the resources to own the fight, but we cannot do it alone.

“Fraud doesn’t respect your degree or education. Fraud is a trend, AI is here, but social psychology is the same. Don’t allow yourself to be defrauded.”

The keynote speaker, Prof Godwin Oyedokun, stressed that fraud is never accidental, describing it as planned. To individuals, he said, “When fraudsters want to get to you, you need to be careful of the people around you. You must be more ready than the fraudster. Perception of detection is the greatest deterrent to fraud. Fraud prevention is better than fraud detection.”

He also urged banks to “Make sure your processes are secure. Take customer protection as one of your strategies and prioritise fraud reporting.”

During a panel session, panellist Adebayo Adebeshin noted that “every innovation has been a trade-off between convenience and security,” adding that knowledge was no longer a unique leverage to curb fraud, as both sides of the divide are now on the same knowledge level.”

Another panellist, Fiyinfolu Okedare, emphasised customer empowerment, stating, “We need to continue customer awareness as they are the first layer of security for the bank. We need to move them away from the victim mentality to defenders. Teach them how to detect phishing emails. If they are able to do that, then they can stop fraud.

“Customer education is one of the least leveraged fraud detection platforms that is being used. It is only a well-educated customer who can stop social engineering. When it comes to fraud prevention, we must move away from theory to practice.”

Bright Anyanwu, another contributor, warned that increased information sharing has heightened fraud risks. He further said, “Where many banks are innovating today is in the area of products and compliance, don’t know about until it is almost finished.

“A good product is almost as good as the security of the product. Innovation is important, but we must also look at the security around it. Do some custom testing around it. It should be security by design.”

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has imposed strict caps on the commissions paid to all third-party electricity bill collectors and ordered electricity distribution companies to re-register every collection partner before December 31, 2025, or risk sanctions.

The new regime, contained in NERC’s Guidelines for the Engagement of Third-Party Collection Service Providers in NESI, comes into force on November 1, 2025, and directly targets opaque revenue practices that have long plagued Nigeria’s power sector.

Signed by the Commission’s Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, the document standardises how Nigerians can pay for electricity, from USSD and banking apps to PoS agents and rural vendors, and sets binding limits on what those agents can charge for their services. The guidelines also mark the latest attempt to enforce Nigeria’s long-standing policy of cashless electricity payment.

In 2019, the commission issued Order NERC/183/2019, mandating DisCos to migrate industrial and commercial customers to cashless payment platforms by January 31, 2020, and residential MD customers (formerly R3) by March 31, 2020. The policy was meant to eliminate leakages, improve transparency, and ensure that collections flowed directly into utility accounts.

Despite this, cash transactions, especially in rural and agency banking channels, remained widespread, with thousands of unregistered agents charging arbitrary rates. Industry operators say some vendors charged unregulated rates far above formal limits, a practice that drained revenue and deepened sector illiquidity.

Under the new framework, only entities licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, including banks, PSSPs, PTSPs, MMOs, switching companies, card schemes, and super-agents, are eligible to operate as Collection Service Providers. The guideline sets binding maximum commissions for all USSD, PoS, app-based, banking, and rural payment channels.

The document read, “In furtherance of the policy direction of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the settlement of electricity bills by certain classes of end-use customers, the commission issued Order No. NERC/183/2019 (the “Order”) mandates DisCos to migrate industrial and commercial customers to cashless settlement platforms by 31 January 2020 and R3 customers (now MD residential) by 31 March 2020. Pursuant to the Order, the commission authorised the use of available banking channels and collection service providers to enhance transparency in billing and collection.

“The cashless payment system is a shift from conventional transactions to more efficient, practical, and secure methods of payment for customers. These include but are not limited to banking applications, mobile platforms, credit cards, debit cards, QR/Scan to pay, USSD, payment links, and digital wallets.

“To register, each CSP must submit: A valid CBN licence or permit, A signed agreement with the relevant DisCo, CAC incorporation documents, A banker’s reference, three years’ tax clearance, VAT registration, A list of sub-agents, an API integration agreement with NIBSS, and Proof of payment of a non-refundable N100,000 registration fee. No CSP may commence operations without NERC’s approval, and no DisCo may engage any partner that is not fully cleared by the regulator.”

The guidelines also classify collection channels into: USSD – real-time mobile short-code transactions, Banking and Switching – including apps, ATMs, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Paystack, and NIBSS, Mobile Payment Services – transfers, VANs, wallets, web, intranet, IVR, NQR, and payment links, Agency Services – PoS, kiosks, agents, cash vendors, Rural Services – agency presence in underserved and remote communities.

According to the guidelines, collection partners must not charge more than: N20 per USSD transaction below N5,000, and N50 for transactions at or above N5,000; 0.75 per cent to 3.25 pee cent, depending on channel type, for mobile wallets, agency banking, PoS, kiosks, and rural agents; A hard cap of N2,000 – N5,000 per transaction, whichever is lower.

NERC also mandated a non-refundable N100,000 registration fee for all collection service providers and insisted that only entities with valid Central Bank of Nigeria licences can operate. Any contract not re-registered by December 31, 2025, automatically becomes invalid.

“To end arbitrary commission charges, NERC has now fixed maximum rates for all categories: USSD below N5,000 – N20, Above N5,000 – N50; Banking & Switching: Banks, gateways – 0.75 per cent, capped at N2,000, ATM – 1.10 per cent, capped at N2,000, Wallets – 1.25 per cent, capped at N2,000

“Mobile Services: Web, chat, IVR, NQR – 1.50 per cent, capped at N2,000, Payout, mobile, VAN – 1.50 per cent, capped at N2,000. Agency & Rural PoS – 1.50 per cent, capped at N2,000, Kiosks – 2.00 per cent, capped at N2,000, Agents – 2.0–3.0 per cent, capped at N5,000, Rural agents – 3.25 per cent, capped at N5,000,” it added.

CSPs may only earn commission for collection services. Deducting fees for any other service, such as IT support or marketing, is expressly prohibited. NERC also directed that all collection contracts must be prefunded, except for banks and switching firms whose settlements must occur on a T+1 basis.

Maximum Demand customers are exempt from third-party collections; they must pay directly into DisCos’ accounts, with no commission payable to any agent. “These rules will remain in force until amended by the Commission,” NERC declared.

However, agents fear that the 3.25 per cent cap and N5,000 limit may push smaller players out of business, particularly in remote areas where electricity supply and customer density are low.

With barely weeks left, DisCos are now under pressure to revalidate thousands of collection contracts, from fintech partners to rural cash handlers, or face stiff enforcement under NERC’s compliance and penalty framework.

The commission warned that any CSP not registered by December 31, 2025, “shall cease to operate.” If fully implemented, the policy could reduce losses, improve liquidity for DisCos, and ultimately help close NESI’s long-running revenue gap.

Fidelity Bank Plc, a leading financial institution, has released its unaudited financial statements for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025. The results show impressive performance across key income lines and operational metrics.

According to the statements published on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) portal on November 21, 2025, the Bank reported Gross Earnings of ₦366.1 billion for Q3 2025. This represents an 8 percent increase from the ₦338.9 billion recorded in Q3 2024. The growth was driven by strong interest income and sustained momentum in fee-based revenues.

Interest Income, calculated using the effective interest rate method, rose by 33 percent to ₦285.6 billion in Q3 2025, compared to ₦214.7 billion in Q3 2024. Other Interest Income more than doubled, rising from ₦13.0 billion in the corresponding period of 2024 to ₦34.2 billion. This underscores significantly improved returns from non-core lending activities.

Year-to-date, the Bank achieved a major milestone with Gross Earnings surpassing ₦1.1 trillion, the highest in its history. This is an increase from ₦772.5 billion in Q3 2024. The Bank’s total assets also crossed the ₦10 trillion mark, driven by robust growth in cash, customer loans, and investment securities; this compares to ₦8.8 trillion in Q3 2024. Net Interest Income for the nine-month period reached ₦565.3 billion, while fee and commission income totaled ₦84.5 billion. The respective figures for Q3 2024 were ₦470.5 billion and ₦56.3 billion.

Credit Loss Expenses moved to ₦900 million from ₦32.8 billion in Q3 2024; however, Net Interest Income remained flat at ₦144.8 billion, compared to ₦143.7 billion in Q3 2024. This reflects improved asset quality and effective risk management practices. Fee and Commission Income grew by 47.2 percent to ₦31.1 billion, up from ₦21.1 billion in Q3 2024, driven by increased transaction volumes and digital banking adoption. Foreign currency revaluation gains contributed ₦14.1 billion to Non-Interest Revenue, while other Operating Income rose to ₦1.1 billion from ₦447 million in Q3 2024.