Nicosia, Cyprus. Fraudulent payment transactions in Cyprus increased by 30% in volume and 66% in value in the first half of 2025, according to a Central Bank of Cyprus report. The central bank said fraud levels remained below euro area averages in relative terms.
Overall figures and euro area comparison
The Central Bank of Cyprus said total fraudulent payment transactions rose to approximately 16,000 cases in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, with the total value climbing to almost €4 million.
It said this was a faster increase than in the euro area overall, where the number of fraudulent transactions remained broadly stable at around 9 million between the end of the first half of 2024 and the end of the first half of 2025, while total value rose 6% to €1.7 billion.
Fraud levels and main drivers
The central bank said fraud as a share of total payments in Cyprus remained lower than corresponding euro averages for each payment service, describing levels as acceptable in both absolute and relative terms.
It said the upward trend has been driven primarily by a rise in fraudulent card payments in recent years.
Card payments and other services
Card fraud accounted for 92% of all fraudulent transactions by volume in Cyprus during the first half of 2025, reaching around 15,000 cases.
The remaining payment services together accounted for approximately 1,000 fraudulent transactions, while no fraud was reported in cheques.
In the euro area, fraudulent card payments represented 81% of the total number of fraudulent transactions, with the Central Bank of Cyprus noting the higher share in Cyprus partly reflected higher domestic card usage.
In volume terms, fraudulent card payments in Cyprus increased by 30% compared with the first half of 2024, while the euro area figure remained relatively stable.
Fraud rates by payment type
The highest fraud rate in volume terms in Cyprus was recorded in electronic money payments at 0.016% of total e-money transactions, followed by card payments at 0.013%.
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