Airtel Nigeria has announced the temporary suspension of airtime and data credit borrowing services for prepaid customers, becoming the second major telecommunications provider to halt the popular service within 24 hours. The decision follows MTN Nigeria’s similar announcement the previous day, leaving millions of Nigerians without access to emergency credit facilities that many have come to depend on for maintaining connectivity.
Both companies cited the need to comply with new regulations as the reason for the suspension, specifically the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s 2025 Digital Lending Regulations that impose stricter licensing and compliance requirements on all forms of consumer credit including telecom advances.
The credit borrowing services, which allowed prepaid customers to access small amounts of airtime or data when their account balance ran out with repayment expected on their next recharge, have become essential survival tools for many Nigerians struggling with economic hardship.
The services typically charged interest or service fees but provided immediate connectivity that customers often needed for emergencies, job searches, business communications, or maintaining contact with family.
The sudden simultaneous suspension by Nigeria’s two largest mobile network operators has effectively eliminated this financial cushion for the majority of mobile phone users in the country, as Airtel and MTN together serve over 150 million subscribers.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission issued its Digital Lending Regulations in 2025 in response to widespread complaints about predatory lending practices, excessive interest rates, privacy violations, and aggressive debt collection tactics by digital lenders operating through mobile apps.
The regulations require all entities offering consumer credit, regardless of the amount or format, to obtain proper licensing, adhere to interest rate caps, respect customer privacy, and follow ethical collection practices.
While the regulations were primarily aimed at standalone lending apps that had proliferated in recent years, the broad language covering “non-traditional consumer credit offerings” appears to encompass telecom credit services as well.
Telecommunications companies now face the choice of obtaining digital lending licenses and restructuring their credit services to comply with the new regulatory framework, or suspending the services entirely until they can achieve compliance. Both MTN and Airtel have chosen temporary suspension, suggesting that the compliance requirements are substantial enough that immediate adjustment is not feasible.
The companies have not provided specific timelines for when the services might resume, stating only that they are working to meet regulatory requirements and will restore the offerings once compliance is achieved….See More
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