McMunn warns on payment fraud after 27 percent increase
Irish payment providers recorded €179 million in fraud in 2025, up 27 percent. Central Bank of Ireland Deputy Governor Mary-Elizabeth McMunn set out supervisory priorities in Dublin on October 14, 2026.
Fraud rises as payments digitalize
Fraudulent payments rose from €140 million in 2024 to €179 million in 2025.
Credit transfers drove the largest increase by value; e-money fraud grew 57.7 percent to €40.42 million.
Mobile wallets were preferred by just under half of respondents under 35, while 60 percent preferred digital bank transfers for account-to-account payments.
McMunn identified safeguarding, operational resilience and financial crime as supervisory priorities.
Recent safeguarding incidents involved outsourced controls.
Boards must oversee technology risks and use the Digital Operational Resilience Act beyond compliance alone.
A completed fraud review covered prevention and victim treatment.
The bank reported 333 scam URLs, with 99 percent removed, and assists Gardai investigations.
Public money meets digital innovation
McMunn warned against losing public money as the system's anchor and creating fragmented private payment networks.
Pontes, launched in September, connects TARGET Services with distributed ledgers for wholesale settlement in central bank money.
The digital euro would provide a European retail payment rail alongside cash.
The Innovation Hub recorded 78 engagements in 2025, up 10 percent.
Eight payments sandbox projects addressed three themes: money movement, inclusion and emerging technology.
A findings report is due in November; a third sandbox is planned.
Trust rests on delivery
McMunn placed security, reliability and fraud protection ahead of technology for its own sake.
She warned that efficiency and resilience do not necessarily move together.
Her message to firms was to preserve human judgment, protect customer funds and collaborate against financial crime.