The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have developed a joint framework to address consumer complaints arising from failed airtime and data purchases.
Nnenna Ukoha, NCC’s Head of Public Affairs, said on Thursday in Abuja that these failed transactions often occur due to network downtimes, system glitches, or human errors. She explained that the framework was created after months of consultations involving the NCC, CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service providers (VAS), Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other stakeholders.
“The framework represents a unified approach by both the telecommunications and financial sectors to address complaints and tackle the root causes of failed transactions, including cases where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services,” Ukoha said.
The framework introduces an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, outlining each stakeholder’s responsibilities. Purchasers are entitled to refunds within 30 seconds of a failed transaction, except for pending transactions where refunds may take up to 24 hours. Operators are also mandated to notify consumers via SMS about the success or failure of every transaction.
The framework covers erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect purchases, and transactions made to the wrong phone number. It also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard, jointly hosted by the NCC and CBN, to track failures, identify responsible parties, monitor refunds, and ensure SLA compliance in real time.
Freda Bruce-Bennett, Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, said failed top-ups are among the top three consumer complaints. She noted that pending final approval and technical integration, MNOs and banks have already refunded over N10 billion to affected customers.
Implementation of the framework is expected to begin on March 1, following final approvals and technical integration by all stakeholders.