The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will soon introduce a joint refund framework aimed at addressing consumer complaints arising from failed airtime and data transactions.
According to a release signed by the Head Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Nnenna Ukoha, the framework, developed after months of consultations, is designed to protect subscribers who are debited for airtime or data purchases without receiving value due to network downtimes, system glitches or human errors.
Stakeholders involved in the engagement process include Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other industry players.
The regulators noted that the initiative will address the growing number of complaints from consumers who experience unsuccessful airtime and data purchases, often accompanied by delays in refunds and resolution.
“The framework represents a unified approach by the telecommunications and financial sectors to resolve such issues. It identifies the root causes of transaction failures and sets out clear, enforceable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) defining the responsibilities of banks, MNOs and other parties involved in the transaction process.” The release read.
Under the proposed guidelines, subscribers who are debited but do not receive airtime or data, whether the failure occurs at the bank or network operator level, will be entitled to a refund within 30 seconds. However, where transactions remain pending, refunds may take up to 24 hours.
The framework also mandates operators to notify consumers via SMS of the outcome of every transaction. It further covers cases of erroneous recharges, including transactions to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases and transfers to wrong phone numbers.
Speaking on the development, the NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs, Freda Bruce-Bennett, disclosed that a Central Monitoring Dashboard will be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN to track transaction failures, responsible parties, refunds and breaches of SLAs in real time.
“Failed top-ups consistently rank among the top three consumer complaints, and in line with our commitment to addressing priority consumer issues, we were determined to resolve this within the shortest possible time,” she said.
Bruce-Bennett commended stakeholders, particularly the CBN, for their collaboration and commitment to ensuring consumers receive full value for their telecommunications purchases. She revealed that, pending final approval of the framework by the management of both regulators, MNOs and banks have collectively refunded over ₦10 billion to customers for failed transactions.
She added that implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, subject to final regulatory approvals and the completion of technical integration by MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs.
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