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Increasingly rampant in Nigeria is the issue of unsuccessful airtime purchase and failed bid to buy data for internet connectivity.
Many Nigerians have continue to suffer under this problem losing their resources without getting corresponding values.
It was not too clear to many of them if it was the banks they used for the transaction that were in possession of their money or it was the telecommunications service provider that refused to provide service after receiving money.
To ameliorate the problem, some of the service providers, through various platforms have reached out to Nigerians promising to resolve any issue within a certain period of 24 or 48 hours from the time of receiving the complaints.
To this end, they highlighted various steps the customer should take, which will culminate in a reversal process.
Some of them asked the customer to provide them information on the time and date the transaction took place, screenshot of the debit alert, provide the phone number used for the transaction, the amount deducted, the transaction reference ID and other information.
While stressing that the issue could have resulted from bank error or poor network connectivity, the service providers' promises to resolve the issue within a stipulated time, most often times, do not materialize.
In many circumstances, the customer is tossed to and fro between the bank and the network provider whenever a complain is lodged concerning failed airtime and unsuccessful data bundle recharge.
So, day-in, day-out, it is the costumer that loses out at the end of the day.
Whether intentionally done or actually errors and connectivity issues, the problem is said to have drained billions of naira from the resources of customers over the years.
It is also worthy to note that failed airtime and unsuccessful data bundle recharges are said to have become one of the topmost complaints among telecom subscribers lodged at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Worried by the ugly trend, the regulatory agencies in the sector, the NCC headed by the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Aminu Maida, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decided to take concrete steps to salvage the situation and fight for the course of the customers.
They decided to put in place a framework that will ensure refund of failed airtime and data bundles to affected customers and automatically address subsequent issues. .
The customer, according to the framework, is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, or refund up to 24 hours where the transaction remains pending.
A press release signed on January 8, 2026 by the Head, Public Affairs, NCC, Nnenna Ukoha, reads "In line with the consumer-focused objectives of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the two regulators have drawn up a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.
"These engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution."
It added "The Framework represents a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on 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.
"It also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process."
Under the new framework, the press statement went on "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."
The framework further mandated operators to notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction, while also addressing erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.
Speaking on the development, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett disclosed that the framework also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN.
The dashboard, she said, will enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, refunds, and track SLA breaches in real time.
Her words “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.
“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.”Mrs. Bruce-Bennett stated
Implementation of the framework, she revealed, is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once the two regulators have made final approvals, and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs is concluded.
While hoping that the framework will earnestly begin on the 1st of March, 2026, it will definitely bring succour to many consumers when properly implemented.
Commending the NCC, CBN and other stakeholders for working on this framework, it will be nice for urgent steps to also be put in place to squarely tackle and improve other problems facing consumers including dropped calls, poor network quality, and broadband issues.