The Impact of Cybersecurity Risks in Fintech and Mobile Banking adoption in Nigeria

Nigeria's fintech and mobile banking businesses are redefining financial inclusion, but severe cybersecurity challenges threaten trust and adoption. This study investigates how fraud incidence rate (FIR), fraud loss value (FLV), and fraud-to-transaction ratio (FTR) influenced mobile banking adoption (MBA) and user trust. The analysis is based on a ten-year dataset (2015-2024), using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and panel regression. The results show that fraud incidence rate of 12.35 per 10,000 transactions, a fraud-to-transaction ratio of 2.1%, and an average loss of ₦3.52 billion. According to regression results, a high fraud-to-transaction ratio considerably slows mobile banking growth (p=0.029) and erodes customer trust. In contrast, mobile banking usage had a significant positive influence on user trust (p=0.000). The study concludes that ongoing fraud exposure jeopardizes the viability of Nigeria's digital financial sector. The study suggests improving cybersecurity infrastructure, closely monitoring fraud ratios, and implementing customer-centric security measures to protect inclusion gains and assure long-term survival.