The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has endorsed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) draft guidelines mandating banks to refund customers for failed Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions within 48 hours.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, said the proposed guideline followed the commission’s Consumer Complaints Data Report released in September.

Ijagwu quoted the FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman, Mr. Tunji Bello, as describing the CBN initiative as a “timely and long-awaited correction to a persistent consumer challenge.”

Bello noted that even at the draft stage, the guideline reflected stronger alignment between regulatory agencies committed to consumer protection.

“It is consistent with what the FCCPC has long advocated, 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,” Bello said.

He added that the proposed directive aligns with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, particularly Sections 17(g), (h), (l), (s) and (t), which mandate the elimination of unfair practices, promotion of fair dealings, effective resolution of consumer complaints, and protection of consumer interests across all sectors.

According to him, the timely adoption of the CBN guideline will reinforce accountability in the banking sector and demonstrate a shared regulatory commitment to fairness, efficiency, and consumer confidence.

“To ensure the policy’s effectiveness, the FCCPC will work closely with the CBN to establish monitoring systems that guarantee compliance and provide timely redress when banks fail to meet the 48-hour deadline,” he said.

“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.”

The CBN, on 9 October, released draft guidelines requiring banks to provide instant refunds for failed ATM transactions.
The framework aims to enhance consumer protection, improve service reliability, and ensure greater accountability in the nation’s financial system.

Under the draft policy, when a customer uses their own bank’s ATM and a transaction fails, the refund must be processed instantly.
If an instant reversal is not possible due to technical issues or system glitches, the bank must manually complete the refund within 24 hours.

For “not-on-us” transactions — when customers use another bank’s ATM — the maximum refund period has been set at 48 hours.