In pursuit of their consumer-focused regulatory objectives, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have drawn up a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.
The commission’s Head, Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, in a statement indicated that the framework was the outcome of several months of engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders.
According to her, the series of engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution.
Specifically, the spokesperson stated that the framework represented a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on addressing such complaints, and identifies and tackles the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including instances where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services.
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In addition, the framework also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process.
Under the new framework, where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive value for airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee—the purchaser is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, except in circumstances where the transaction remains pending, of which the refund can take up to 24 hours.
While also mandating operators to notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction, the framework also addresses erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.
Commenting on the initiative, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett disclosed that the framework also established a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN and that the dashboard will enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, refunds, and track SLA breaches in real time.
The Director clarified: “Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints, and in line with our commitment to addressing these priority issues, we were determined to resolve it within the shortest possible time.
“We are grateful to all stakeholders—particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria and its leadership—for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and arriving at this framework, and for ensuring that consumers of telecommunications services receive full value for their purchases.
“So far, pending the approval of management of both regulators on the framework, MNOs and banks have collectively made refunds of over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions”, Bruce-Bennett added.
She further disclosed that implementation of the framework was expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once the two regulators have made final approvals, and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs is concluded.
