BANKS and telecommunications operators in Nigeria have been handed a March 1, 2026, deadline to fully implement a comprehensive refund framework aimed at ending persistent consumer complaints over failed airtime and data transactions.
News Point Nigeria reports that the new directive follows the completion of a joint regulatory framework developed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address situations where subscribers are debited for airtime or data purchases without receiving the corresponding service.
The framework targets failures arising from network outages, system malfunctions, human input errors, and other breakdowns across the financial and telecommunications transaction chain.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by the NCC’s Head of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, the commission said the initiative is the product of several months of consultations involving the NCC, the CBN, mobile network operators (MNOs), value-added service (VAS) providers, deposit money banks (DMBs), and other key stakeholders.
The engagement was necessitated by a surge in consumer complaints related to failed airtime and data purchases, unexplained debits, and prolonged delays in processing refunds.
Speaking on the development, Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs Freda Bruce-Bennett, revealed that the framework introduces a Central Monitoring Dashboard, which will be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN. She explained that the dashboard would allow regulators to monitor transaction failures in real time, identify the party responsible for each failure, track refunds, and detect breaches of service-level agreements (SLAs).
“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,” Bruce-Bennett said.
She noted that the framework represents a unified and enforceable position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on how failed airtime and data transactions should be handled. The rules clearly define accountability across the entire transaction value chain, from banks to telecom operators.
Under the new guidelines, any subscriber whose account is debited without receiving airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or on the network of an NCC licensee—will be entitled to a refund within 30 seconds. Where a transaction remains pending, the framework provides a maximum resolution window of 24 hours, after which a refund must be processed.
Bruce-Bennett commended the collaboration between regulators and industry players, noting that significant progress had already been recorded even ahead of full implementation.
“We are grateful to all stakeholders, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria and its leadership, for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and ensuring that consumers receive full value for their purchases,” she said.
“So far, pending the final approval of management of both regulators, MNOs and banks have collectively refunded over ₦10 billion to customers for failed transactions.”
The framework also establishes a binding Service Level Agreement for MNOs and DMBs, detailing the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder involved in airtime and data transactions and in the complaint resolution process. Regulators say the SLA is designed to eliminate delays, close accountability gaps, and ensure faster consumer redress.
Bruce-Bennett further disclosed that full implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, subject to final regulatory approvals and the completion of technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers, and DMBs.
As part of the new consumer protection measures, banks and telecom operators will also be required to notify customers via SMS of the success or failure of every airtime and data transaction. The framework additionally addresses long-standing issues such as erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and transactions made to the wrong phone number.