MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecom operator, is working to restore its Xtratime airtime lending service soon after Nigeria’s consumer protection regulator suspended the enforcement of new digital lending rules.
“The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has suspended the enforcement of DEON. To that extent, we will reinstate the service,” a company insider told TechCabal.
MTN’s decision to restore the service is a departure from what executives told investors during the company’s May 4 earnings call. The telecom operator had argued that the court ruling restraining enforcement of the rules did not automatically require it to resume airtime lending because the judgment neither invalidated the underlying regulations nor directly instructed operators to restore services.
MTN declined to comment for this story.
Airtel and Globacom have already restored airtime lending services following the regulatory pause. MTN’s Xtratime allows subscribers to borrow airtime or data and repay through subsequent recharges. The product generates fees, supports telecom consumption, and sits at the intersection of the company’s telecom and fintech businesses.
“In terms of what needs to happen for us to resume airtime advance service, there are essentially two conditions,” Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN Nigeria’s chief corporate services and sustainability officer, said during the earnings call. “First, we would require either a court ruling that sets aside the regulations empowering the FCCPC to license, which has not happened, or a clear directive instructing us to reinstate the service.”
The company’s stance changed after the FCCPC suspended enforcement of its Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations (DEON Regulations) 2025 on May 22. The suspension followed an April 15 interim order issued by the Federal High Court in Lagos after a lawsuit filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN), the umbrella body for value-added service providers.
MTN, however, insists that Xtratime’s absence has not fundamentally altered customer demand.
“There was a short-term impact on consumption patterns, which lasted only a few days,” MTN Nigeria chief executive officer Karl Toriola said during the earnings call. “However, as time progressed, customers adapted. They either shifted to self-funded usage or found alternative ways to manage short-term needs.”
According to MTN, fees from Xtratime contribute roughly 3% of revenue, while airtime and data consumption linked to the product account for a low-20% share of total airtime distribution.
“This consumption is split across voice and data in line with the mix reflected in our revenue,” Toriola said.
MTN Nigeria generated ₦5.2 trillion ($3.77 billion) in revenue in 2025, and expects at least ₦6.24 trillion ($4.52 billion) in 2026.
Despite Xtratime’s role in customer spending behaviour, the company argued that the product mainly changed how customers pay for telecom services rather than whether they consumed those services at all.
“As we have said, we expect consumption patterns and top-line revenue to normalise to levels consistent with what we would see without Xtratime. That is why we do not expect any material impact on full-year performance,” Toriola said.
In its Q1 2026 earnings report, MTN said it was advancing the onboarding of approved providers and expects to resume the service once onboarding is completed.
MTN’s move to restore Xtratime suggests the product still matters operationally and competitively, but after weeks of suspension, the company’s message to investors is that the business can absorb Xtratime’s absence if need be.
from TechCabal https://ift.tt/NY2sjlK
via IFTTT
I am the CEO of 9JAGISTLAND.My name is Adedeji Timothy and my co-owner is Oyekola Damilare.This blog is born out of our passion to educating to people in all aspect of internet life.We are enthusiastic about writing posts and articles online.
Write your views on this post and share it. ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon