Fraudulent payment value in Cyprus rises 16% to nearly €3.7m

Nicosia, Cyprus. The value of fraudulent payments in Cyprus rose 16 per cent year on year to almost €3.7 million in the second half of 2025, despite a 5 per cent decline in cases to around 14,000, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

Fraud rates

Payment fraud remained relatively low in absolute terms and as a share of total transactions, while fraud rates for most payment instruments were below the euro area average.

The exception was credit transfers measured by value, where Cyprus recorded a slightly higher fraud rate than the euro area. E-money and card payments had the highest fraud rates in both Cyprus and the euro area.

The CBC said the increase in the value of fraudulent transactions partly coincided with broader growth in payment activity, meaning it may partly reflect the larger volume of money moving through Cyprus’ payment system.

Euro area comparison

Across the euro area, around nine million fraudulent transactions were recorded in the second half of 2025, broadly unchanged from the corresponding period of 2024. Their value increased 8 per cent to €1.9 billion.

Card payments and credit transfers

Card payments accounted for 93 per cent of fraud cases in Cyprus, with approximately 13,000 fraudulent transactions recorded. The share was higher than the euro area’s 79 per cent, reflecting the greater use of cards in Cyprus.

The number of fraudulent card payments declined marginally from the second half of 2024, while the euro area recorded a small increase.

Credit transfers accounted for the largest share of fraud by value, reaching €2 million, or 56 per cent of the total. Fraudulent card payments totalled €1.6 million, or 43 per cent, while all other payment instruments combined accounted for less than €60,000.

The value of fraudulent credit transfers rose by around 15 per cent in both Cyprus and the euro area. Fraudulent card payment values increased by about 20 per cent in Cyprus, while declining marginally across the euro area.

Other payment instruments

No fraudulent transactions involving direct debits or cheques were reported. Fraud linked to money remittances represented a negligible share of both the number and value of cases.