INVESTIGATION: How Online Platform Slipcraft Helps Scammers Fake Transfers, Generate Fraudulent Receipts
According to a 2025 survey carried out by journalists, 71 per cent of respondents preferred cash over digital payments. 19 per cent use digital payments occasionally but still have concerns, whereas 10 per cent say they operate fully cashless transactions. A liyu Balqees lost trust in digital payments on a Tuesday morning in October 2025, a day the 34- year-old shoe trader says remains etched in her memory.
From her modest shop in Ilorin’s Gegele Market, Kwara State, she watched the usual rush of the morning crowd. Like many traders, Balqees had adapted to digital payments following Nigeria’s 2023 cashless policy. “A customer walked in while I was arranging my wares and asked for corper-style Kito shoes,” Balqees recalled. “They cost ₦3,500 each, and he wanted three pairs, two size 43s for himself and a size 40 for his girlfriend.”
After brief bargaining, they settled on ₦9,000. “He asked for my bank details, and I gave him my GTBank account number,” she said.
“Normally, GTBank alerts take time, so I usually ask customers to show me the transfer receipt,” she noted. The customer presented a receipt confirming a successful ₦9,000 transfer.
Satisfied, Balqees handed over the packed shoes and watched him vanish into the crowded market. Hours passed, but the money never arrived. The loss ruined her day, but it taught her a hard lesson. “Now, if you don’t have cash, I won’t sell to you,” she said. Her resolve reflects a growing trend. Across major Nigerian markets, recurring digital payment fraud and network failures are driving traders back to cash, undermining the government's push for a cashless economy.
“Cash transactions remain the safest,” said Rahannah Musa, who sells *Dankali da Awara* (fried potatoes and tofu) in Sokoto State’s Wamako Local Government Area. “Customers often claim they sent money, but the transfer never reflects.” Musa adopted transfer payments in 2023, which initially boosted her sales compared to cash-only vendors. However, network instability frequently forced her to rely solely on transfer receipts.
“That is where the problem lies,” Musa lamented. “When the network fails and the money isn't credited, you have no recourse, the customer is already long gone.” Rahannah Musa spoke about the cost of digitalization of funds. Credit: Habeeb Olokooba.
Across Nigeria, delayed or missing bank notifications create significant friction for consumers and business owners alike. Most customers rely on SMS or email alerts to verify transactions, but technical glitches, network downtime, and systemic banking failures frequently stall or prevent these deliveries. The resulting uncertainty often triggers transaction disputes, double payments, and immediate distrust.
The crisis worsened in January 2025 when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) authorized telecom operators to disconnect Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) access for nine banks over a ₦200 billion accumulated debt. The suspension left millions of customers unable to conduct USSD banking or receive transaction alerts, compounding the notification bottleneck.
According to a 2025 survey carried out by journalists, 71 per cent of respondents preferred cash over digital payments. 19 per cent use digital payments occasionally but still have concerns, whereas 10 per cent say they operate fully cashless transactions. Of the 330 traders who attempted the survey, 52% reported falling victim to fake transactions at least once. 27% lost money to fraudulent digital transactions, and 15% stopped accepting bank transfers due to multiple bad incidents.
