By 
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have proposed a 30-second refund timeline for failed airtime and data purchases, in a bid to address long-standing billing complaints in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
The proposal is contained in the Exposure Draft of the Joint CBN–NCC Framework for the Resolution of Failed Airtime and Data Purchase Transactions, published on the CBN’s website on Monday. Dated 5 February 2026, the draft framework seeks to institutionalise clearer accountability and create a coordinated consumer redress mechanism spanning both the financial and telecoms ecosystems.
At the core of the proposal is the introduction of standardised, automated timelines for resolving failed transactions. Under the current system, customers often endure prolonged delays when airtime or data purchases fail at the bank, aggregator or mobile network operator (MNO) level.
To address this, the regulators are proposing a 30-second window for automated reversals. Section 6.0(ii) of the draft stipulates that refunds must be issued within 30 seconds where a transaction fails at the bank level, at an NCC-authorised licensee, or between an MNO and its authorised digital channel partner.
The framework mandates full automation of reversal processes across all stakeholders, ensuring that refunds occur without requiring any manual action from customers. It also outlines strict connectivity rules, requiring banks and MNOs to interface only with authorised NCC and CBN licensees and channel partners. Failure notifications, the draft notes, will constitute final settlement obligations between MNOs and NCC-authorised licensees.
To strengthen oversight, the CBN and NCC are proposing a jointly hosted Central Monitoring Dashboard. The platform will track reversals, service-level agreement breaches and customer complaints in real time, effectively creating a national “Failed Transactions Dashboard” with uniform error codes and end-to-end visibility across the transaction value chain.
This mechanism is designed to eliminate the frequent dispute over liability between banks and telecom operators when transactions fail. To support this, banks and MNOs will be required to maintain and share daily reports detailing successful and failed transactions.
The draft also tackles the issue of failed or “lost” recharges involving ported phone numbers. Under the proposed rules, MNOs must validate numbers against the ported number database before processing any recharge. Where a number is identified as ported out or invalid, the system must automatically halt the transaction and return a failure code to the bank to prevent customer debits.
Clear protocols have also been outlined for erroneous recharges sent to unintended recipients. For transactions below ₦20,000, reversals will require the recipient’s consent, while amounts above ₦20,000 will necessitate an affidavit of indemnity or a notarised letter before recovery can proceed.
On enforcement, both regulators signalled a firm stance. The framework provides for joint quarterly audits of banks, payment service providers and MNOs, with penalties to be imposed for any breaches of its provisions.
Financial institutions and other stakeholders have until 10 February 2026 to submit feedback on the exposure draft. Once finalised and implemented, the framework is expected to significantly improve consumer experience and restore subscriber trust in Nigeria’s digital payments and telecommunications ecosystem.
Comments