The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have rolled out a joint regulatory framework aimed at ending losses suffered by subscribers due to failed airtime and data purchases.
The initiative, described as a major consumer protection milestone, is designed to address issues arising from network outages, system malfunctions and human errors during digital recharge transactions.
Under the new guidelines, subscribers who are debited without receiving airtime or data are expected to get their money back within 30 seconds. The NCC spokesperson, Nneka Ukoha, explained that while most failed transactions must be resolved almost immediately, more complex cases that remain in a pending state may take up to 24 hours for refunds to be processed.
The framework is the result of months of engagement among telecommunications operators, deposit money banks, value-added service providers and other stakeholders across the financial and telecom sectors.
To ensure compliance, both regulators have introduced a compulsory Service Level Agreement (SLA) that clearly spells out the obligations of banks and telecom companies in handling failed transactions and refunds.
The policy also goes beyond technical failures to tackle common customer complaints, including mistaken recharges to ported lines and errors involving wrong phone numbers. In addition, service providers are now required to send instant SMS alerts for every transaction attempt, giving customers real-time updates and greater transparency.
To strengthen enforcement, the NCC and CBN are deploying a central monitoring dashboard that will track failed transactions and refund timelines in real time across the industry.
Speaking on the development, the NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs, Freda Bruce-Bennett, said failed airtime and data recharges have consistently ranked among the top three consumer complaints in the telecom sector.
She added that the impact of the regulatory push is already being felt, with more than ₦10 billion refunded to customers during the pilot phase of the framework.
According to the regulators, full implementation of the 30-second refund system will commence on March 1, 2026, following the completion of final technical integrations between the banking and telecommunications industries.
