The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are set to roll out a joint refund framework aimed at resolving consumer complaints arising from failed airtime and data transactions, particularly cases where subscribers are debited without receiving value.
The Head of Public Affairs of NCC, Nnenna Ukoha, in a statement issued on Thursday, said the initiative is designed to protect consumers affected by network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors, and to ensure faster and more transparent resolution of such incidents across the telecommunications and financial sectors.
According to the statement, the framework is the product of months of engagement involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders.
These discussions were prompted by a growing number of complaints linked to unsuccessful airtime and data purchases and prolonged delays in refunds.
Under the new arrangement, where a purchaser is debited but does not receive airtime or data, whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee, the consumer will be entitled to a refund within 30 seconds. In situations where a transaction remains pending, the refund window may extend to a maximum of 24 hours.
The framework establishes a unified position between the telecommunications and financial sectors and introduces an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in transaction processing and dispute resolution.
It also mandates operators to notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction. In addition, it addresses issues such as erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and cases where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.
Speaking on the development, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Freda Bruce-Bennett, said the framework responds directly to one of the most frequent complaints received by the commission.
She said, “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 them within the shortest possible time.”
She disclosed that the framework also provides for the creation of a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN.
According to her, the platform will enable both regulators to monitor transaction failures, identify the responsible party, track refunds, and observe breaches of agreed service levels in real time.
Bruce-Bennett acknowledged the contributions of stakeholders involved in developing the framework, noting the role of the financial sector regulator in driving the process.
“We are grateful to all stakeholders, particularly the CBN 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,” she said.
She added that, pending final approval by the management of both regulators, Mobile Network Operators and banks have already refunded over N10 billion to customers affected by failed transactions.
Implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once approvals are secured and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers, and DMBs is concluded.
