The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed that over the years Mobile Network Operator (MNOs) and banks have refunded customers for failed airtime and data transactions.
In a statement made available to Business Remarks, the Nigerian telecom regulator noted that failed airtime and data top-up ranked and remained top 3 among numerous telcos’ consumer complaints.
As a result, NCC under its new framework jointed hosted with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated that, a purchaser debited but who fails to receive value for airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee— is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, except in circumstances where the transaction remains pending, of which the refund can take up to 24 hours.
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Addressing this issue, Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett said, “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 disclosed, NCC and CBN have drawn up a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.
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.
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.
Mrs. Bruce-Bennett further noted that implementation of the framework is 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
