Telcos Threaten to Cut USSD Access over Banks’ Misleading Notice

Nigeria’s major telecom operators have warned they may stop supporting USSD banking services due to what they described as deliberate misinformation by banks.

The telecom firms, MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom and 9Mobile, are reacting to a notice sent out by banks on Tuesday, June 3, informing customers that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had directed a new billing method for USSD transactions.

According to the banks, fees would now be deducted from users’ airtime instead of directly from their bank accounts.

The message stated: “In line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), please be informed that effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account.

“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.

“Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, which will be billed by your mobile network operator.

“You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfil this service.

“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel.”

However, telecoms under the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) have pushed back, accusing banks of twisting the facts to serve their own interests.

READ ALSO: NCC Orders Banks to Deduct USSD Charges From Customers’ Airtime

Chairman of ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, said: “I don’t understand why the banks are twisting agreements and distorting information just to favour their selfish interests.

“In the first place, the information wasn’t a directive from the NCC but a joint regulatory agreement between the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, witnessed by the telcos and the banks.

“The agreement was that if the banks finally cleared all USSD debts owed to the telcos by June 2, 2025, they are free to migrate to the end-user billing method, so long as the model of migration is transparent and agreed upon by the telcos.”, he told Vanguard.

He explained that the clause was meant to prevent double billing, where users are charged both from airtime and bank accounts.

“As we speak, some of the banks have cleared their debts, but the majority are yet to do so. So, even if all the modalities of migrating to end-user billing have been perfectly carried out, the implementation cannot even begin because the banks are yet to clear the USSD debt owed to the telcos.”

“Our position now is that if that is the way the banks want to treat the agreement, we may withdraw support for their USSD services. It is not a must-have. They can do without it. But, they should clear the debts as agreed,” he added.

This growing tension revives the long-standing friction between telcos and banks over USSD fees, a dispute that earlier this year involved threats of disconnection and debt recovery efforts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.