In a decisive move to strengthen consumer protection in the telecommunications and financial services sectors, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have jointly developed a comprehensive framework to resolve consumer complaints arising from failed airtime and data transactions.
The initiative aligns with the consumer-centric mandates of both regulators and targets recurring issues linked to network downtimes, system glitches, and human input errors that often result in subscribers being debited without receiving value.
The framework is the product of several months of intensive engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other critical stakeholders.
These consultations were triggered by a growing volume of complaints from subscribers over unsuccessful airtime and data purchases, particularly cases where accounts were debited but services were not delivered, coupled with prolonged delays in complaint resolution.
The newly developed framework represents a harmonised position between the telecommunications and financial sectors on complaint resolution. It systematically identifies the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including scenarios in which bank customers are debited without successful service delivery.
Importantly, it introduces an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder throughout the transaction and resolution lifecycle.
Under the framework, where a consumer is debited but does not receive the purchased airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the banking stage or on the side of an NCC licensee—the consumer is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds. An exception applies where the transaction remains pending, in which case the refund window may extend to a maximum of 24 hours.
The framework also mandates operators to notify consumers via SMS on the success or failure of every transaction. It further provides clear guidelines for handling erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and transactions made to the wrong phone numbers.
Speaking on the development, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett, disclosed that the framework also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN.
According to her, the dashboard will allow both regulators to monitor transaction failures, identify the responsible party, track refunds, and detect SLA breaches in real time.
“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,” she said.
She further commended stakeholders for their collaborative efforts, stating: “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.”
Mrs. Bruce-Bennett added that full implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, subject to final approvals by both regulators and the completion of technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers, and DMBs.