Ghana’s digital finance industry faces growing pressure to strengthen fraud prevention as delays in sharing intelligence between banks and payment providers allow criminals to move stolen funds across platforms before institutions can intervene.
John Awuah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks, has called for real-time fraud intelligence sharing among banks, fintech companies and payment service providers (PSPs), warning that fragmented responses are undermining efforts to protect customers’ funds.
He said fraudsters often exploited delays in communication between financial institutions to transfer money before suspicious transactions were detected, leaving victims with limited prospects of recovering their funds.
“Most of the fraud activities or fraudulent activities that have gone on and been successful and sometimes with zero recovery have been that, it happened and by the time the next player in the institution got awareness, well, they are two days down the line,” he said.
Mr Awuah was speaking at the 15th edition of the ABSA-UPSA Law School Quarterly Banking Roundtable in Accra, held on the theme: “Financial Services Fraud in the Era of Telephony Banking: Who Bears Liability and the Responsibility to Protect?”
His remarks highlight a critical business challenge for Ghana’s expanding digital financial services industry: the need to ensure that fraud prevention systems keep pace with the speed and interconnectedness of electronic payments.
As customers increasingly rely on digital channels to transfer money and conduct transactions, weaknesses in information sharing can expose financial institutions to losses, customer disputes and reputational damage.
For banks, fintech companies and mobile money operators, effective coordination could help limit the movement of stolen funds, improve recovery rates and strengthen customer confidence in digital financial services.
Mr Awuah said financial institutions needed to move beyond isolated fraud detection systems and establish stronger channels for sharing intelligence.
“One thing, the fraudsters share a lot of information and intelligence,” he said, urging industry players to match that level of coordination.
“Banks have to be upfront with the PSPs, PSPs must be upfront with the banks. We don’t have to protect ourselves from ourselves,” he added.
He said timely information sharing would allow institutions to identify suspicious transactions at different stages of the payment process and intervene before funds were transferred beyond recovery.
The call places greater emphasis on cooperation across the financial services ecosystem, where a transaction originating from one institution could move through several platforms before the initial provider becomes aware of a suspected fraud.
Mr Awuah also advocated a coordinated public education campaign to help customers recognise fraud attempts, arguing that a common industry-wide approach could be more effective than separate institutions repeatedly issuing similar messages.
Early reporting critical to fund recovery
Mr Moses Tetteh, Senior Manager for Financial Crimes at Mobile Money Fintech Limited, said digital financial fraud commonly involved the theft of personal information or account credentials, manipulation of victims and the subsequent transfer of funds across platforms.
He said the speed with which victims reported incidents could influence the chances of stopping transfers and recovering stolen money.
“When an incident happens, it is necessary for you to quickly change your PIN,” he said.
Mr Tetteh explained that once an incident was reported and investigations indicated that funds had moved to another platform, the affected provider could alert the receiving institution to facilitate intervention.
His comments underscore the importance of connecting customer reporting systems with the internal fraud response mechanisms of financial institutions, particularly when stolen funds can be moved rapidly between accounts.
Security controls and liability under scrutiny
Mr Nana Addo Ampem-Darko, of Absa Bank Ghana Limited’s Fraud Detection function, said financial institutions needed effective transaction monitoring systems and sustained public awareness efforts to counter fraudsters who exploited customer trust to obtain passwords and authentication codes.
He said disputed transactions should be investigated to establish whether the appropriate security controls had been applied, rather than automatically attributing losses to customers.
The approach raises an important question for the industry as digital transactions expand: how should responsibility for fraud losses be determined when customer behaviour, criminal deception and institutional security controls may all be relevant?
Clear investigations and accountability could help strengthen customer protection while encouraging providers to maintain effective safeguards across their digital platforms.
Mr Eric Bodzie Cab-Beyuo, Head of the Bank of Ghana’s Fraud Investigation Unit, called for thorough investigations, stronger collaboration with law enforcement agencies and prosecution of perpetrators.
He said financial institutions needed to trace stolen funds and improve recovery efforts, while ensuring that fraud attracted meaningful consequences.
For Ghana’s digital finance industry, the challenge extends beyond detecting individual fraudulent transactions. Building a coordinated system for intelligence sharing, rapid intervention and accountability will be essential to protecting customers and sustaining confidence in electronic payments.
