Fatimah Otunsanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission have unveiled a joint framework to tackle the growing problem of failed airtime and data transactions, which have left consumers frustrated after payments are processed without service delivery.
The 20-page draft, published on the CBN’s website on Monday, was developed by the CBN’s Consumer Protection & Financial Inclusion Department and the telecom regulator, with input from banks, mobile operators, payment providers, and other stakeholders.
The regulators seek to clarify accountability, standardise complaint resolution timelines, and create a coordinated system for addressing grievances across both the financial and telecommunications sectors.
“This development buttresses the need for the proposed framework to institutionalise clear accountability, standardise resolution timelines, and ensure a sustainable, coordinated approach to consumer redress across the financial and telecommunications ecosystems,” Director of Consumer Protection & Financial Inclusion at the CBN, Dr Aisha Isa-Olatinwo said.
The draft framework has been exposed to banks, other financial institutions, payment service providers, and the general public for comments, with stakeholders invited to submit feedback to the financial regulator no later than February 20, 2026.
The CBN emphasised that the framework represents a collaborative effort between the banking and telecommunications sectors to protect consumers and streamline complaint resolution processes.
In January, Nigerian banks and telecommunications companies were given a deadline of March 1, 2026, to implement a new refund framework developed by the NCC and CBN to address these complaints.
Under the new system being discussed, banks, mobile network operators, and payment service providers are expected to settle refunds quickly and according to consistent timelines. Once fully approved and implemented, the refund mechanism would entitle subscribers to automatic refunds within 30 seconds when a purchase fails, with a maximum resolution window of up to 24 hours in cases where transactions remain pending.
Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Freda Bruce-Bennett, disclosed that the framework also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN. According to her, the dashboard will enable both regulators to monitor failures, identify the responsible party, track refunds, and monitor SLA breaches in real time.
“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 said at the time. Says Governor Makinde Free to Join