October 13, 2025
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s, draft guidelines requiring banks to refund customers for failed Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions within 48 hours, has received the backing of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC.
FCCPC in a statement by it Director, Corporate Affairs, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, on Monday in Abuja, said the draft guideline followed the Consumer Complaints Data Report published by the commission in September.
According to Ijagwu, FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Tunji Bello, described the proposal as a timely and long overdue correction to a persistent consumer challenge.
Bello noted that the guideline even at the draft stage, demonstrated stronger alignment between regulatory agencies committed to consumer protection.
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”It is consistent with what the FCCPC has been advocating, given the number of complaints we receive about failed transactions.
”We commend the CBN for this decisive step, which will ease the burden on consumers and rebuild trust in financial services,” he said.
He added that the proposed directive was consistent with the provisions of the FCCPA 2018, particularly sections 17(g), (h), (l), (s), and (t).
The FCCPC executive vice chairman explained that the sections mandated the elimination of unfair practices, but promotion of fair dealings, resolution of consumer complaints, and protection of consumer interests across all sectors.
He said, a timely adoption of the guidelines will also reinforce accountability within the banking sector and demonstrate a shared regulatory commitment to fairness, efficiency, and consumer confidence.
”To make the policy effective, the FCCPC will work with the CBN to establish systems for monitoring compliance and ensuring timely redress when banks fail to meet the 48-hour deadline.
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”The commission maintains that closer collaboration among regulators will lead to faster resolutions, prevent recurrences, and strengthen consumer confidence in Nigeria’s growing digital economy,” he said.
The CBN introduced new draft guidelines mandating banks to provide instant refunds for failed ATM transactions, released on Oct. 9, is designed to strengthen consumer protection, improve service reliability, and ensure greater accountability in the country’s financial system.
Under the draft framework, where a customer uses their own bank’s ATM and the transaction fails, it must be reversed instantly.
The CBN said that if instant reversal was not possible due to technical hitches or system glitches, the transaction must be manually corrected within 24 hours.
For ‘not-on-us’ transactions, when customers use another bank’s ATM, the maximum refund window was set at 48 hours.
