The rising digital fraud is eroding public trust in the country’s financial system, posing a growing threat to the stability of the sector, the Chief Executive (CE) of Stanbic Bank Ghana, Kwamina Asomaning, has stated and called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to address the growing menace.
The stakeholders include banks, financial technology (FinTech) companies, telecommunication companies, regulators and law enforcement agencies.
Speaking at the second quarter Graphic Business/Stanbic Breakfast Meeting in Accra Tuesday [June 16, 2026], Mr Asomaning explained that fraudsters were increasingly deploying sophisticated tactics such as phishing attacks, SIM-swap fraud, account takeovers and social engineering schemes to target customers and institutions.
He further cautioned that while such attacks often resulted in financial losses, their greater impact lay in the damage they inflicted on public confidence in the financial system.
Mr Asomaning said emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, behavioural analytics and real-time monitoring systems, were becoming essential tools in detecting and preventing fraud.
The Stanbic Bank Chief Executive stressed that technology alone would not be enough to tackle the challenge.
He therefore called on financial institutions to place greater emphasis on customer education and awareness, describing informed customers as a critical line of defence against fraud.
Mr Asomaning added that fraud had evolved beyond a financial crime to become a direct attack on the confidence that underpinned banking and financial services.
Restoring trust, he said, required significant effort and time.
“Fraud is not merely a financial crime. It is an attack on trust. Every deposit made, every payment processed, every loan extended rests on a simple but powerful belief — that the institutions entrusted with our money are safe, reliable, and secure.
“When that belief is shaken, confidence weakens, participation declines, and the broader economy suffers,” he stated at the thought-leadership programme, which has grown to become one of the major agenda-setting events on the national calendar.
The Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting offers a platform for experts in various fields to discuss critical and relevant topics that have the potential to contribute to economic and social growth.
The meeting, which was on the theme: “Shine Your Eyes: Combating Financial Fraud in Ghana through Collaboration and Innovation”, brought together industry leaders, regulators, and policymakers to discuss strategies to strengthen the country’s response to financial crime.
The Deputy Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Mohammed Adams Sukparu, delivered the keynote address.
Addressing challenges
The Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group Ltd, Ato Afful, explained that over the past 15 years, advances in digital technology, mobile communications and financial services had revolutionised the way Ghanaians communicate, transact and access financial services.
Mobile phones, he said, had become powerful tools that placed unprecedented control in users’ hands.
However, Mr Afful said the growing interconnectedness among banks, mobile money operators, FinTech firms, merchants and other actors had increased vulnerabilities within the financial ecosystem.
As legitimate systems evolve, he explained, fraudsters were also adapting, exploiting gaps in technology, processes and human behaviour.
To address the challenge, Mr Afful also called for stronger collaboration among regulators, financial institutions, telecommunications companies, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
Such cooperation, he stressed, should facilitate timely intelligence sharing, improve fraud detection and strengthen consumer protection.
The MD of GCGL further emphasised the need for sustained public education campaigns to equip consumers with the knowledge required to identify and avoid fraudulent schemes.
Investigation
For his part, the Director of the Financial Forensics Unit at the Criminal Investigations Department CID, Chief Supt Stephen Akowuah, said digital fraud cases had become widespread, ranging from mobile money scams to sextortion, SIM-swap fraud and identity theft.
“The kinds of fraud being recorded are many. People are conducting business in the digital space and are being duped,” he said.
Chief Supt Akowuah acknowledged that investigations were often complicated by the use of fake identities and improperly registered SIM cards.
However, he encouraged victims to report incidents promptly, adding that “the first point of call should be the telcos because if the money has not been cashed out, it can be frozen temporarily while investigations are conducted.”