By: Chidozie Nwali
In a major win for Nigerian telecom subscribers, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have finalized a groundbreaking regulatory framework to ensure subscribers who are debited for failed purchases receive an automatic refund within 30 seconds. NCC said late Thursday.
The new policy is designed to eliminate the frustration of failed airtime and data transactions, among Nigerian consumers.
For years, consumers have been caught in a loop of finger-pointing between banks and telecommunications providers whenever a transaction fails.
The new framework, the result of months of collaboration between regulators, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), introduces an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA).
This agreement clearly defines the responsibilities of every player in the transaction chain, ensuring that regardless of where the glitch occurs—whether at the bank level or the telco level—the consumer is protected.
According to NCC, in cases where a transaction remains “pending,” the refund must be completed within 24 hours. Operators are now required to send an SMS to consumers for every transaction, explicitly stating whether it succeeded or failed.
The framework specifically addresses “human errors,” such as recharges to ported lines or transactions made to the wrong phone number.
“Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints, and we were determined to resolve it within the shortest possible time,” said Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett, Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC.
To ensure strict compliance, the NCC and CBN will jointly host a Central Monitoring Dashboard. This digital tool will allow regulators to track transaction failures, identify the responsible party in real-time, and flag any breaches of the new Service Level Agreement.
The regulators revealed that even before the official rollout, their intervention has already yielded results: MNOs and banks have collectively refunded over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions during the engagement phase.
Data from NCC shows that between 1% and 3.6% of all digital top-up transactions in Nigeria fail. In a market where over 98% of the 220+ million subscribers are on prepaid plans, this represents a significant financial loss and a drain on consumer trust.
The full implementation of the framework is scheduled to commence on March 1, 2026. This lead time allows for the final technical integration between all stakeholders, including Value Added Service (VAS) providers and commercial banks.
The move is expected to significantly boost consumer confidence in digital payment systems, which has been hampered by persistent system glitches and network downtimes.
