The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have unveiled a comprehensive framework aimed at ensuring swift refunds and greater accountability across Nigeria’s digital payment and telecommunications ecosystem.
Unveiled on Monday with a 20-page draft published on the CBN’s website, the framework represents a joint push by financial and telecom regulators to address a problem that has left millions of subscribers debited without receipt of purchased airtime or data, and often waiting weeks for resolution.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of growing complaints from mobile users who have had payments processed through banks or mobile network platforms but did not get the value they paid for, sometimes with little clarity on who bears responsibility.
According to the draft framework, once fully approved and implemented, consumers who are debited for airtime or data that fails to deliver value will be entitled to an automatic refund within 30 seconds, with a maximum resolution window of up to 24 hours for transactions that are marked as pending.
The policy applies regardless of where the failure occurs, whether at the bank level or within the network of an NCC-licensed operator, and is backed by service level agreements (SLAs) that outline obligations for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), value-added service providers and other stakeholders.
Under the proposed framework, consumers will also receive SMS notifications confirming the success or failure of every airtime or data purchase. The framework further tackles recurrent issues such as erroneous recharges to ported numbers, incorrect purchases and transactions sent to unintended numbers, standardising how these scenarios should be resolved.
To strengthen oversight and ensure transparency, the regulators say a Central Monitoring Dashboard will be jointly hosted by the CBN and the NCC. This platform will enable real-time tracking of failed transactions, pinpoint the responsible party, monitor refunds and flag SLA breaches across the ecosystem.
Freda Bruce-Bennett, Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, emphasised the significance of the development.
“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 them within the shortest possible time.”
She also expressed appreciation for the collaboration with the CBN, noting the regulators’ shared goal of ensuring that telecommunications consumers receive full value for their purchases.
Even before final approval, the collaborative effort has seen tangible outcomes: banks and mobile network operators have reportedly refunded more than ₦10 billion to customers over failed airtime and data transactions.
Both regulators have set a target to begin full implementation of the framework on March 1, 2026, contingent on final management approvals and the completion of necessary technical integrations by banks, MNOs and service providers.
The framework is also open for public comments, with stakeholders invited to submit feedback ahead of its finalisation later this month.
The policy has garnered praise beyond regulators. Groups like the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have applauded the initiative as a major win for consumer rights, particularly for young people who rely heavily on mobile data and airtime for education, digital engagement and daily communication.
In a statement, NANS described the framework as demonstrating “responsive leadership and a deep commitment to consumer protection,” particularly in guaranteeing quick refunds and accountability from banks and telecom operators.
