Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have designed a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.

According to a statement by the Head, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Nnenna Ukoha, the framework is the outcome of several months of engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders.

The engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution.

The Framework represents a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on addressing such complaints. It identifies and tackles the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including instances where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services. It also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process.

Under the new framework, where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive value for airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee—the purchaser is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, except in circumstances where the transaction remains pending, for which the refund can take up to 24 hours.

The framework further mandates operators to notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction. It also addresses erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.

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 enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, refunds, and track SLA breaches in real time.

Mrs Bruce-Bennett further noted that implementation of the framework was expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once the two regulators have made final approvals, and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs is concluded.