MTN Nigeria suspended its airtime and data lending services after new FCCPC digital lending regulations disrupted the existing model.
In early 2025, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) rolled out new rules to break monopolies in telecom lending. The most controversial part was Section 24 which requires telcos to use at least 2 intermediaries for airtime/data loan activation within 60 days. One intermediary must be wholly Nigerian-owned and lenders must share repayment data with credit bureaus under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
“MTN Nigeria Communications PLC (MTN Nigeria or the Company) hereby notifies the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public that the Company has temporarily suspended its airtime and data credit advance service (“Xtratime”). This relates to the implementation of processes under the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025, which introduced a new compliance and licensing framework for entities providing digital or non-traditional consumer credit services, Given the scale within the revenue mix, we do not expect the temporary suspension to have a material impact we are monitoring customer behaviour and usage patterns and would provide updates in 2026 Q1 results.” MTN company announced on Thursday April 16.
MTN didn’t suspend lending to protest — it had to pause XtraTime/XtraByte because the old Nairatime-only setup violated FCCPC’s new anti-monopoly + credit reporting rules.
