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Subscribers across Nigeria are set to benefit from a new initiative that guarantees refunds within 30 seconds for failed airtime and data transactions, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced.
The move is in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and aims to resolve the growing complaints of consumers debited without receiving value during network downtimes, system glitches, or human errors.
The initiative comes after several months of joint discussions involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
These engagements focused on finding a swift and transparent solution to failed transactions and delays in refunds.
Speaking on the development, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett, explained the scope of the initiative.
“Where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee—the subscriber is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds. In cases where the transaction remains pending, the refund can take up to 24 hours,” she said.
She added that the system will notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction.
“This also covers erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and transactions made to the wrong phone number,” Bruce-Bennett said.
A Central Monitoring Dashboard, jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN, will track transaction failures, identify responsible parties, monitor refunds, and flag breaches of the agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA) in real time.
“Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints. In line with our commitment to resolving priority issues swiftly, we ensured a solution that puts consumers first,” Bruce-Bennett said.
She also praised the cooperation of the CBN, noting, “We are grateful to all stakeholders—especially the Central Bank of Nigeria—for their tireless efforts in finalising this initiative. So far, MNOs and banks have collectively refunded over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions, even before full implementation.”
The 30-second refund system is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, following final approvals from both regulators and completion of technical integration by MNOs, VAS providers, and DMBs.
This move is being hailed as a significant step in boosting consumer confidence and accountability in Nigeria’s telecommunications and banking sectors.
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