The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the introduction of a collaborative framework with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at resolving consumer complaints linked to unsuccessful airtime and data purchases.

The new arrangement is designed to ensure that subscribers who are debited for failed transactions receive refunds within 30 seconds.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by the NCC’s spokesperson, Nneka Ukoha, the framework is the outcome of months of consultations involving the telecoms regulator, the CBN, mobile network operators, value-added service providers, deposit money banks and other industry stakeholders.

Ukoha explained that the initiative reflects a coordinated response by both the telecommunications and financial sectors to the rising number of complaints from consumers who were charged without receiving the requested airtime or data, often due to network outages, system malfunctions or human errors.

She added that the framework establishes a binding service level agreement for mobile network operators and banks, clearly outlining their respective roles in transaction handling and dispute resolution to improve accountability and consumer protection.

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“Under the new framework, where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive value for airtime or data-whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee-the purchaser 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,” she said.

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“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.”

Freda Bruce-Bennett, the NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs, explained that the framework provides for a central monitoring dashboard that will track failed transactions, refund processes and breaches of service level agreements in real time, with joint oversight by the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“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 said.

“We are grateful to all stakeholders-particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria and its leadership-for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and arriving at this framework, and for ensuring that consumers of telecommunications services receive full value for their purchases.

“So far, pending the approval of management of both regulators on the framework, MNOs and banks have collectively made refunds of over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions.”

Bruce-Bennett said the framework is scheduled to take effect on March 1, subject to final approval by the NCC and the CBN, following the completion of technical integration by mobile network operators, value-added service providers and deposit money banks.