Nigeria: Flutterwave Denies Alleged Hacking of Payment System

“We want to reassure you that Flutterwave has not been hacked,” the company said.

Flutterwave, an Africa-focused payments company, on Sunday debunked reports that its account was hacked and the sum of N2.9 billion was lost to fraudsters.

In a statement issued on Sunday (March 05, 2023), the fintech company said it collaborates with other financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to keep its ecosystem safe and secure.

“We want to reassure you that Flutterwave has not been hacked. As a financial institution, we monitor transactions through our transaction monitoring systems and 24-hour fraud desk and review any suspicious activity,” the statement said.

Earlier reports said that hackers made away with ₦2.9 billion from the company’s accounts and that the funds were illegally transferred into several accounts with different Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria.

The reported breach made the company take an order to free the accounts of several customers in many banks and that over 300 customers have been affected, the reports said.

However, Flutterwave in its statement said its payment system was not hacked and that none of its users lost any funds as reported.

“We want to confirm that no user lost any funds, and we take pride in the fact that our security measures were able to address the issue before any harm could be done to our users,” the statement noted.

“At Flutterwave, we understand that our customers’ personal and financial information is of the utmost importance. We take this responsibility seriously and understand that any potential security breach can cause anxiety and concern among our customers.”

The fintech company claimed that during a routine check of its transaction monitoring system, it identified an unusual trend of transactions on some users’ profiles and that its team acted accordingly.

“Our team immediately launched a review (inline with our standard operating procedure), which revealed that some users who had not activated some of our recommended security settings might have been susceptible,” the statement said.

“Our commitment to keeping our users’ financial information safe and secure is why we invest heavily in security initiatives such as periodic audits, certifications, and licences such as the PCI-DSS & ISO 27001. These are in line with global best practices in information security management.”

The tech company urged its customers to continue to trust its operations and feel secure in using Flutterwave for their business needs.

“Our commitment is to enable your business growth while keeping your financial information safe and secure,” Flutterwave said.

Flutterwave, founded in 2016, specialises in individual and consumer transfers. It is headquartered in San Francisco.