How Moneygate is building trust in an era of payment fraud
Central Bank of Cyprus data shows fraud rising sharply, with cross-border card payments 25 times more likely to be fraudulent. Security has to scale with innovation.
As Cyprus, and the world, embraces digital payments, the latest report from the Central Bank of Cyprus serves as a sobering reminder: with innovation comes vulnerability. The CBC's publication on fraudulent non-cash transactions reveals a steep rise in both the volume and value of payment fraud.
What the data shows
| Indicator | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Fraudulent transactions, by number | +34% year on year |
| Fraudulent transactions, by value | +26% year on year |
| Incidents in the period | Nearly 14,000, worth close to EUR 3 million |
| Share of fraud involving cards | 94% of all reported fraud |
| Average fraudulent card transaction | EUR 93 |
| Average loss per fraudulent credit transfer | EUR 8,015 |
| Cross-border card fraud likelihood | 25x more likely than domestic |
Card transactions are at the heart of the increase: card fraud grew 41% in volume and 27% in value. But the most concerning pattern is cross-border: card transactions processed outside Cyprus were 25 times more likely to be fraudulent than domestic ones, a gap that points to fragmentation in regulatory enforcement and insufficient cooperation between payment service providers.
Security must scale with innovation
Although Cyprus still reports relatively low absolute fraud levels compared with the euro area, the rate of increase deserves both caution and proactive response: stronger safeguards embedded into infrastructure, real-time monitoring, and alignment with European regulatory standards.
Originally published in Cyprus Mail. Read the original article →