From Our Correspondent
Lagos, Jan. 11, ’26 (TNZ) The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have developed a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions.
Nnenna Ukoha, the Head of Public Affairs, NCC, announced this in a statement emailed to TheNewsZenith at the weekend.
Ukoha stated that the development of the framework is in line with the consumer-focused objectives of the two regulators.
TheNewsZenith gathered that consumers often complain about issues arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.
“The framework is the outcome of several engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
“The engagements also involved Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders.
“Incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and delayed resolution, prompted the engagements.
The Framework represents a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors in 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.
The framework also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs.
“It clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process.
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“Under the new framework, where customers are debited but didn’t receive value for airtime or data, they are entitled to a refund within 30 seconds.
“This is whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee, except where the transaction remains pending. In that case, 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,” TheNewsZenith quotes the statement.
It also addresses erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases. Instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number are also taken care of.
The statement quotes the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs Freda Bruce-Bennett, as saying that the framework also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard.
Bruce-Bennett said both NCC and CBN will jointly host the dashboard.
According to her, the dashboard will enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, and refunds. It will also track SLA breaches in real time.
“Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints. In line with our commitment to addressing these priority issues, regulators are determined to resolve them within the shortest time.
“So far, pending the approval of management of both regulators on the framework, MNOs and banks have collectively refunded over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions,” TheNewsZenith quotes Bruce-Bennett as stating. (TNZ)
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