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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have proposed regular joint audits of banks, telecom operators and other ecosystem players as part of a new framework aimed at reducing failed airtime and data purchase transactions.
The proposal is contained in an exposure draft jointly issued by the two regulators on February 5, 2026, and published on the CBN’s website. It seeks to address growing consumer complaints over transactions in which bank accounts are debited without successful airtime or data delivery.
Under the draft framework, the CBN and NCC plan to institutionalise accountability across the financial and telecommunications value chains, enforce standard resolution timelines and strengthen consumer redress mechanisms.
According to the document, the regulators will conduct compliance audits of stakeholders either jointly or individually on a quarterly basis or at other intervals deemed necessary. The audits will cover banks, mobile network operators, payment service providers, merchants and NCC-licensed entities involved in airtime and data vending.
The framework also proposes routine audits of partners to ensure that only properly licensed and authorised entities participate in airtime and data transactions, a move aimed at reducing failures linked to unlicensed intermediaries and weak system integrations.
In addition, the regulators intend to impose penalties for breaches identified during audits, reinforcing enforcement beyond voluntary compliance.
A key feature of the proposal is the introduction of unified service level agreements with strict timelines for transaction processing and reversals. Failed transactions would trigger real-time notifications across banks, mobile operators and licensed vendors, with automated refunds expected within seconds once failure is confirmed.
For unfulfilled airtime or data delivery, refunds are to be completed within 30 seconds in simulated or sandbox environments. Banks will also be limited to a maximum of two transaction re-attempts to prevent multiple debits during network downtimes.
To improve oversight, the framework proposes a central monitoring dashboard jointly managed by the CBN and NCC to track failed transactions, reversals, SLA breaches and consumer complaints across the ecosystem.
Stakeholders will also be required to publish quarterly SLA compliance scorecards, a move regulators say will improve transparency and restore consumer trust in digital airtime and data channels.
The exposure draft has been released for public comment ahead of nationwide implementation
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