By Babajide Komolafe

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced guidelines to curb deceptive money transfer fraud, known as Authorised Push Payment, APP, stressing that bank customers must prove non-negligence, non-complicity to get a refund.  

Explaining the rationale for the guidelines, the CBN in the Draft Guidelines for Handling Authorised Push Payment, APP, said: “Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud has been a growing concern in the industry. Unlike traditional fraud where an account is compromised without the owner’s knowledge, a customer is manipulated, persuaded, or misled to voluntarily make a payment to a third party’s account, who has either impersonated a legitimate entity/individual or wilfully refused to fulfil an obligation. 

“This form of fraud, often executed through social engineering methods, exploits the customer’s trust and the finality of digital transactions, making it increasingly challenging to detect and prevent.   

According to the guidelines, all banks and other financial institutions must establish 24/7 fraud-reporting channels—including hotlines, emails, mobile app options, USSD codes and official social-media handles—allowing victims to report incidents within 24 hours, or up to 72 hours with reasonable justification. Institutions must acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and open investigations immediately.

To strengthen consumer protection, the CBN mandated that full investigations be concluded within 14 working days, after which customers must receive a clear decision on reimbursement. Where fraud is confirmed, refunds must be made within 48 hours of investigation closure.

The guidelines also introduce strict timelines for joint investigations between originating and receiving banks when more than one financial institution is involved. In such cases, reimbursement must be completed within 16 working days. Institutions with weak fraud-detection systems that fail to flag suspicious transactions will be debited for the full loss.

The CBN further empowered settlement entities such as NIBSS to withhold the value of suspected fraudulent transactions, even extending to secondary beneficiary institutions along the transaction chain.

However, customers will only be eligible for refunds if they acted in good faith, reported promptly, and were not negligent or complicit. Banks may deny reimbursement where customers fail to report within 72 hours without valid reasons, or where investigations reveal collusion or negligence.

On consumer awareness, banks must run quarterly campaigns in multiple languages to educate the public on digital fraud risks and reporting procedures.

Where disputes arise, customers may escalate unresolved cases to the Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion Department of the CBN, which will issue binding decisions in line with existing consumer-protection regulations.