Joint EBA-ECB report highlights effectiveness of strong authentication amid rising payment fraud

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Central Bank (ECB) published the 2025 edition of their joint report on payment fraud. The report covers data from 2022 to 2024 and confirms that the legal requirement for strong customer authentication (SCA), introduced in 2020, has contributed to reducing fraud levels.

In 2024, the payment fraud rate in the European Economic Area (EEA) remained stable at approximately 0.002% of the total transaction value. The total value of fraud increased to €4.2 billion in 2024 from €3.5 billion in 2023. Fraud reported by the industry was €3.4 billion in 2022, €3.5 billion in 2023, and €4.2 billion in 2024.

Transactions verified with SCA were generally less susceptible to fraud, especially for card payments. Fraud for card payments was 17 times higher when the recipient was outside the EEA, where SCA is not legally required or often not used.

The report highlights that while SCA requirements have been beneficial, new types of fraud are emerging, particularly manipulation of payers and exploitation of transactions with SCA exemptions. Fraud losses varied by payment instrument, with €2.200 billion for credit transfers (up 16%) and €1.329 billion for card payments issued in the EU/EEA (up 29%) in 2024.

Payment service users bore approximately 85% of fraud losses for credit transfers, mainly due to scams tricking users into initiating fraudulent transactions. The report emphasizes the need for continued vigilance and adaptation of security measures to combat emerging fraud types.

Legal and reporting frameworks under PSD2 and ECB regulations require payment service providers to report fraud data semi-annually, supporting ongoing monitoring and policy development. The EBA and ECB will continue to publish payment fraud data to inform supervisory actions and policy decisions.