A legal dispute over Nigeria’s digital lending regulations is casting fresh uncertainty over the airtime and data credit services that millions of subscribers rely on daily. The Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has asked the Court of Appeal to suspend enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025—known as the DEON Regulations—pending the outcome of its appeal.
WASPAN argues that immediate implementation of the rules could expose its members to sanctions, heighten regulatory uncertainty, and disrupt telecom-enabled credit services. The association’s members are licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and provide airtime advances, data loans, and other digital lending products through telecom networks.
The appeal follows a July 20 judgment by the Federal High Court in Lagos, which WASPAN is contesting. The association contends that enforcing the DEON Regulations while the appeal is unresolved would prejudice its members and potentially interrupt services used by millions of subscribers.
Industry Warns of Economic Impact
Industry stakeholders have pointed to a previous six-month disruption in airtime lending as evidence of how critical these services have become. According to Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), that earlier interruption showed that airtime credit is not merely a telecom add-on but a form of economic infrastructure.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” Adebayo said.
The scale of usage—roughly 40 million regular users—underscores the service’s role in Nigeria’s digital economy, particularly for low-income subscribers who depend on it for basic connectivity.
Subscribers Recall Previous Disruption
For individual users, the prospect of another service interruption is deeply concerning. Seun Sofoluwe, an Abeokuta-based worker, said a repeat of the earlier disruption would be difficult for many Nigerians who rely on airtime and data advances for everyday communication.
“A lot of people depend on the services, and it will be very bad for them, especially those who are so reliant on it that they do debt-to-debt servicing,” Sofoluwe said.
Debt-to-debt servicing describes the practice of repaying an outstanding airtime loan immediately in order to qualify for another advance—a pattern that reflects how heavily some subscribers depend on continuous access to borrowed credit for voice and data services.
Lagos-based employee Farouk Rabiu recalled the hardship caused by the six-month disruption that preceded the restoration of airtime lending services. “I was devastated because, after exhausting my data, I was hoping to borrow credit to access my bank account. Instead, it was a major disappointment,” Rabiu said after services resumed.
Regulator’s Position and What’s at Stake
The FCCPC has maintained that the DEON Regulations are necessary to clean up the digital lending industry. The commission says the rules aim to curb predatory debt recovery practices, protect consumer data, and eliminate illegal digital lenders.
WASPAN, however, argues that enforcing the regulations while the legal challenge is pending could destabilise a market that has become integral to Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem. The association’s members operate under NCC licenses, and the overlap between telecom regulation and consumer credit rules lies at the heart of the dispute.
The Court of Appeal’s decision on whether to grant a suspension of enforcement will shape the regulatory landscape for telecom-based digital lending. That ruling will determine whether operators can continue providing uninterrupted airtime and data credit services while the broader legal questions are resolved.
For now, millions of subscribers—and the businesses that serve them—are waiting to see whether the court will allow the services to continue without disruption or whether a new period of regulatory uncertainty will begin.
