Manny Ita
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have announced that mobile network operators and commercial banks have collectively refunded over N10 billion to consumers following an increase in failed airtime and data transactions. This disclosure was made by the NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett, who noted that the refunds were facilitated pending the final approval of a new joint regulatory framework. According to a statement released on January 8, 2026, by the NCC’s Head of Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, the initiative is the result of extensive engagement with stakeholders to address “the growing incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value.”
The new regulatory framework, which is scheduled for full implementation by March 1, 2026, introduces a “30-second refund mandate” for unsuccessful transactions. Under the guidelines, a purchaser debited without receiving service—whether the failure occurs within the banking system or at the telecommunications level—is entitled to an automatic refund within 30 seconds. In instances where a transaction remains “pending,” the framework allows a resolution window of up to 24 hours. Mrs. Bruce-Bennett emphasized the necessity of this shift, stating, “A failed transaction means it never began,” and added that a central monitoring dashboard will be jointly hosted by the NCC and CBN to track failures, refunds, and breaches of service level agreements in real time.
In addition to automatic reversals, the framework mandates that operators notify consumers via SMS regarding the success or failure of every transaction. The policy further addresses long-standing technical issues such as erroneous recharges to ported lines and incorrect data purchases. To ensure strict compliance, the regulators have established an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) that clearly defines the accountability of all parties in the digital payment value chain. Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, highlighted that the new rules represent a “shift in the burden of proof” away from the consumer, ensuring that the era of funds being stuck in a pending status for days is officially over.
