The value of fraudulent payments increased by €26m in 2023 new figures from the Central Bank show.

The 26% rise saw fraud increase from €100m in 2022 to €126m the following year.

The Central Bank said that card payment fraud rate is by far the highest among payment method.

Their research found 0.034% of card payments by value were fraudulent.

Online card payments made up 86% of the total value of card fraud in 2023, amounting to €37.4m.

The value of money remittance frauds has more than tripled from €2.5m in 2022 to €8.2m in 2023.

However, the bank's research also shows the rate of fraud in Ireland as a share of all transactions is low - by value and by volume the rates are just 0.001%.

It also emerged that around half of fraud in electronic payments by value - amounting to €52m in 2023 - were not authenticated via Strong Customer Authentication.

The Central Bank said that fraudulent payments are a growing concern in Europe, especially in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.

Fraudsters continually adopt new ways to exploit digital systems and bypass security measures, costing businesses and individuals millions each year.

"Combatting fraud in the financial system is a priority for the Central Bank, working closely with law enforcement, other State agencies and peer regulators," the regulator said.

"Where we identify criminal activity taking place in the financial system, the Central Bank works with An Garda Siochána and other agencies who lead criminal investigations and prosecutions," it added.

Around 98% of card payment fraud happens when fraudsters use stolen cards, accounts or personal information for payment.

The Central Bank said that "Manipulation of the Payer fraud" occurs when a fraudster gains trust by social engineering or impersonation and convinces the payer to make payments to them is evident in credit transfers and e-money payments.

In fraudulent credit transfers, payer manipulation fraud rose from 27% in the first half of 2022 to 42% by the end of 2023.

The "Unauthorised payment transactions' category is more specific to direct debits where a fraudster obtains customer information and sets up mandates without the authorisation of the payer.

Over 99% of all fraudulent direct debits were related to such fraud, with an exception in the second half of 2023 due to a once-off incident recorded in this category.

The bank also said that "Modification of Payment order by fraudster" is where a fraudster intercepts and modifies a legitimate payment order. It is rare (less than 2 % of all fraud by value) and observed only in credit transfers.

The report noted: "Ireland has a lower reported fraud rate than the EU across most payment methods."

But the Central Bank noted the accounts to which the fraudulent payments were sent are mostly located outside of Ireland.

Approximately 60% of the total value of fraud across 2022-2023 involved cross-border payments, amounting to €77m in 2023 and €64m in 2022.

Fraudulent payments sent to domestic accounts amounted to €49m in 2023 and €36m in 2022.

"The primacy of cross-border payments in fraudulent transactions is stronger in volume terms, accounting for 75% of total fraud (309k and 433k transactions in 2022 and 2023," the Bank noted.