Nigerians count losses as failed airtime payment transactions surge across networks

Every day, thousands of Nigerians open their phones to buy airtime or data and watch their money disappear into thin air.

From Lagos to Kano, complaints are flooding the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) from consumers who have been debited for failed transactions that never delivered value.

According to recent data presented at the 94th edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament in Lagos, failed airtime and data recharges have become one of the most common complaints among telecom subscribers, second only to issues of poor service quality. Millions of Nigerians are now taking their frustrations directly to the NCC’s complaint channels, hoping someone will help them recover lost funds.

“Consumer protection is industry protection. When a transaction fails, it means it never truly began. Customers must either receive their value or get an immediate refund,” Dr. Aisha A. Isa-Olatinwo is the Director of Consumer Protection and Financial Inclusion at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Read also: NCC, CBN launch joint taskforce to tackle failed telecom transactions in Nigeria

The growing volume of these complaints underscores a major weakness in Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem, a system that processes millions of electronic recharges daily but still struggles to guarantee reliability across all platforms.

A costly digital frustration

For instance, Chinyere Okafor, a 27-year-old Lagos-based fashion designer, who recently tried to buy N1,000 airtime using the USSD code told BusinessDay that, “The debit alert came instantly, but the airtime never arrived. I called my bank, they said to contact my network provider. The provider said it wasn’t their fault. I have still not been refunded till today.”

Civil servant Azeez Bamidele said he had given up on recharging through his bank. “I lost over N5,000 in a single week. Each time I complained, nobody took responsibility. I had to switch to physical recharge cards,” he lamented.

The ripple effect of such failures is significant. Analysts note that with millions of transactions happening daily in Nigeria’s telecom ecosystem, even a small error rate translates into huge financial losses for consumers.

They say even a one percent to three percent transaction failure rate is alarming in a country where about 171 million telecom subscribers are largely on prepaid plans.

“It may sound small, but when applied to millions of daily transactions, it translates into enormous financial losses,” said Mr. Quasim Odunmbaku, technical advisor, office of the executive commissioner for stakeholder management, NCC.

At the consumer parliament, Odunmbaku disclosed that an estimated 97 percent to 98 percent of Nigerian telecom users are on prepaid services and over 91 percent recharge electronically. Yet, data shows that a significant percentage of those payments either fail or are delayed, leaving consumers anxious and financially stranded.

When Airtime Fails, Who’s Responsible?

The issue, regulators say, isn’t limited to one actor. Failed transactions can occur anywhere along a complex chain linking banks, payment aggregators, and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

“When a customer buys airtime, they expect it to reflect immediately. But sometimes it doesn’t, due to technical glitches, wrong account entries, or system lags. Whatever the cause, the customer only wants two things: their money or their value,” said Winfred Umerah, senior manager, total quality management at MTN Nigeria.

Read also: CBN gives banks 48 hours to refund failed ATM transactions

Umerah admitted that industry players have operated for years with weak coordination and inconsistent response systems, leaving customers to navigate overlapping complaint channels. “We are now building the collaboration that should have existed from the start,” she added.

At the heart of the problem, panelists agreed, is accountability. When a recharge fails, who bears the responsibility, the bank that processed the payment, the aggregator that routed it, or the operator that was meant to deliver the value?

“Consumers don’t care about the backend. They just know their money is gone. We have improved our refund mechanisms, but to truly solve this, all stakeholders must work under clear service-level agreements,” said a representative of Access Bank, speaking at the session.

A Joint Regulatory Crackdown

The CBN and NCC say they are now finalizing a joint regulatory framework to end the blame game. The new rules will enforce Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that assign clear responsibilities and timelines for refunding failed transactions.

Isa-Olatinwo explained that the framework will ensure every transaction generates a traceable response code, making it easier to identify where the failure occurred and who must bear the cost.

“Consumers shouldn’t suffer delays because systems failed. Refunds should be automatic, not after long investigations,” she said.

Both regulators are also strengthening oversight and sanctions for non-compliance. Operators or banks that consistently fail to deliver or refund transactions will face penalties. Beyond enforcement, the plan includes consumer education and awareness, so users know their rights and can demand swift action when payments fail.

For the NCC, the goal is not just to penalize defaulters but to restore trust in Nigeria’s digital payment system. According to officials, the commission’s complaint channels are being upgraded to handle the rising number of reports more efficiently.

The Commission said the new joint committee is standardizing refund codes, timelines, and escalation procedures. “Our aim is to reduce complaints from tens of thousands to single digits. It is ambitious, but it is achievable through transparency and strong cooperation,” it stated.

Consumer advocates also insist that civil society must play a part. Prof. Chiso Ndukwe-Okafor, the executive director of the Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF), called for direct inclusion of consumer voices in the ongoing reform process.

Read also: Bank customers to begin paying for USSD transactions via airtime today

“Regulators and operators often speak for consumers, but they should also listen to them. The burden of a failed transaction should not rest on the consumer. Refund first, investigate later,” she said.

The conversation at the NCC Consumer Parliament signaled rare unity among regulators, banks, and telcos. All agreed that failed transactions, no matter how small, erode consumer confidence and slow the country’s digital progress.

For millions of Nigerians like Chinyere, that unity can’t come fast enough. Until every naira deducted without value is automatically refunded, trust in digital payments will remain fragile.

As Odunmbaku summed it up, “When consumers lose money, the entire industry loses credibility. Fixing this isn’t optional, it’s survival.”