Namibia recorded an 18.9% increase in reported payment fraud losses to N$32.45 million during the first half of 2026, driven largely by a surge in electronic funds transfer (EFT) fraud, according to the Bank of Namibia (BoN) and the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA).
The latest Namibia Financial Stability Report shows that fraud losses within the National Payment System (NPS) increased from N$27.29 million in the first half of 2025, with EFT fraud accounting for the largest share of reported losses.
EFT fraud losses rose by 47.3% to N$21.87 million, compared with N$14.85 million during the corresponding period last year.
Despite the year-on-year increase, total reported fraud losses declined by 30.4% from the N$46.61 million recorded in the second half of 2025.
However, the report cautioned that the decline should be viewed against seasonal patterns, as fraudulent activities typically increase towards the end of the calendar year.
Meanwhile, card fraud losses declined by 9.7% year-on-year to N$10.36 million from N$11.47 million, while e-money fraud losses fell by 72.5% to approximately N$229,000 from N$835,000.
The report identified phishing and vishing as the main methods used in EFT fraud, with criminals impersonating banking officials and trusted organisations to obtain customers’ confidential information.
These scams often result in account takeovers and unauthorised electronic transactions.
Card-not-present fraud also remained a concern, particularly where merchants failed to implement 3-D Secure authentication, increasing the risk of unauthorised transactions and payment disputes.
E-money fraud was mainly linked to technical support and lottery scams, as well as criminals impersonating banking personnel to obtain customers’ mobile wallet PINs.
“The year-on-year increase in total fraud losses, particularly those associated with EFTs, highlights the need for continued strengthening of fraud prevention, detection and mitigation measures across the NPS,” the report stated.
The regulators said financial institutions needed to strengthen transaction monitoring, customer authentication and fraud prevention measures to address emerging threats.
The report also highlighted improvements in payment security as financial institutions continued implementing the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which establishes requirements for protecting cardholder information and reducing the risk of data breaches.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Namibia strengthened cooperation with financial institutions, telecommunications operators and other stakeholders through the Cyber, Operational Resilience and Fraud Mitigation Council.
The central bank also hosted a National Fraud Seminar in February 2026 to examine emerging fraud trends and measures to strengthen prevention across the financial sector.
In addition, the BoN worked with the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), mobile network operators and NAMFISA to improve coordinated responses to fraudulent activities.
The Bank also partnered with the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) to conduct fraud awareness campaigns in several towns, focusing on phishing, vishing and account-takeover scams.
On regulatory supervision, the BoN continued monitoring payment service providers and other regulated institutions through off-site assessments and on-site inspections.
During the reporting period, the Bank commenced one risk-based inspection and completed a pre-opening inspection of Instant Payment Namibia, a payment system operator.
It also conducted two pre-opening inspections of payment service providers and finalised inspection engagements carried over from previous reporting periods, including a risk-based inspection and a pre-opening inspection of a virtual asset service provider.
The report said regulated institutions continued implementing corrective measures to address findings from previous inspections, with the central bank monitoring compliance.
The BoN and NAMFISA said stronger authentication measures, improved fraud detection systems and continued public awareness campaigns remained necessary to contain fraud risks as digital payment services expanded across Namibia.
