Nigeria’s Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have introduced a consumer protection framework requiring subscribers to receive refunds within 30 seconds for failed airtime and data transactions. The policy covers failures occurring at both the bank and telecom operator levels, reflecting a coordinated approach across the financial and telecommunications sectors, according to nairametrics.
Under the framework, customers who are debited without receiving airtime or data will automatically receive a refund in 30 seconds. Transactions that remain in a “pending” status may take up to 24 hours to resolve. The regulation also requires telecom operators and banks to send SMS notifications confirming the success or failure of every transaction, reducing uncertainty for subscribers.
The initiative followed months of consultations between the NCC, CBN, mobile network operators (MNOs), value-added service providers (VAS), and deposit money banks (DMBs) in response to millions of consumer complaints about erroneous debits and delayed reimbursements. A Central Monitoring Dashboard jointly hosted by the NCC and CBN will track transaction failures, assign responsibility, and monitor refunds in real time.
Officials said full implementation is expected by March 1, 2026, after final regulatory approvals and technical integration by all stakeholders. Mobile operators and banks have already refunded over ₦10 billion to customers affected by failed transactions, highlighting the scale of the issue, as reported by TV360 Nigeria.
