Cyprus: What is happening with payment fraud?

One of the worst-case scenarios when it comes to banking transactions, whether through the use of a card or credit transfers, is for an individual to fall victim to fraud and then have to go through an entire process in order to recover the money they have lost.

Cases both in Cyprus and in the rest of the euro area remain relatively high to this day, forcing both the public and the authorities to be even more vigilant and cautious when carrying out transactions.

What is happening in Cyprus?

There were still quite a significant number of financial fraud incidents in Cyprus through banking transactions last year, although they decreased by 5% in the second half of 2025, while the total value of the incidents increased by 16%, reaching €3.7 million.

Specifically, last year, according to data from the Central Bank of Cyprus, fraud incidents reached 14,000, with payment card fraud continuing to account for the vast majority of cases, exceeding 90%.

A very important point is that online card payments were the main channel through which most card fraud incidents occurred.

In terms of the value of fraud incidents, both card payments and credit transfers accounted for the largest shares.

It is also worth noting that Cyprus recorded the highest value of an individual fraudulent transaction involving credit transfers among all countries in the euro area.

Another important point highlighted by the Central Bank is that the majority of fraud incidents in the second half of 2025 involved cross-border transactions.

Let’s look at the figures in more detail

As mentioned above, financial fraud incidents in Cyprus occur mainly through bank card payments. In the second half of 2025, they accounted for 93% of the total volume of fraud incidents. More specifically, 13,000 incidents of this type of fraud were recorded.

Fraud incidents involving other payment methods remained at low levels for another year. In the second half of 2025, there were only around 1,000 such incidents.

Compared with the other countries in the euro area, Cyprus recorded significantly higher rates of card payment fraud. Specifically, in the euro area, fraud involving card payments accounted for 79% of total fraud incidents in the second half of 2025.

It is also important to note that, over time, both card payments and credit transfers have accounted for the largest share of the total value of fraud incidents in Cyprus.

The value of fraud incidents

Regarding the value of fraud incidents, credit transfers remained in first place.

Specifically, in the second half of 2025, the total value of fraud incidents involving credit transfers reached €2.0 million, accounting for 56% of the total value of fraud incidents, while the value of fraud involving card payments stood at €1.6 million, representing 43%.

It is worth noting, however, that the value of fraud incidents involving credit transfers increased at a similar rate—approximately 15%—both in Cyprus and in the other euro-area countries during the second half of 2025.

In contrast, the value of fraud incidents involving card payments increased by 20% in Cyprus, while the euro area recorded a decline over the same period.

Specifically, in the euro area, fraud incidents involving credit transfers accounted for 65% of the total value of fraud incidents during the same period, while card payments accounted for 28%.

Risk in cross-border payments

Another particularly interesting point is that the majority of fraud incidents involve cross-border payments, despite the fact that most transactions in Cyprus are domestic payments.

Specifically, fraud cases—including all payment methods—involving cross-border payments in Cyprus during the second half of 2025 were significantly higher than those involving domestic payments.

This was particularly evident in card payments, where cross-border fraud incidents were almost 15 times higher than domestic fraud incidents.

Finally, another important point is that more fraud incidents occurred through online payments.

According to data from the Central Bank, fraud incidents involving card payments made in person at physical points of sale (POS) accounted for only 4%, while 96% of the volume of card fraud incidents involved online payments.

In terms of value, the corresponding figures were 6% and 94%, respectively.