The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated deposit money banks (DMBs) to cease deducting unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) transaction charges directly from customers’ accounts.
According to an email sent to customers by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) on Tuesday, the charges will now be deducted from users’ mobile airtime, with the directive taking effect from June 3.
“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.”
UBA has assured customers that they can continue using alternative digital banking options and internet banking platforms for convenience.
The recent directive appears to be a step by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to address the longstanding USSD payment dispute between mobile network operators (MNOs) and commercial banks.
In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCC instructed MNOs and deposit money banks (DMBs) to settle the protracted N250 billion USSD debt.
Amid threats from telcos to discontinue services over the debt, the NCC, in January 2025, warned of suspending USSD services and publishing a list of debtor banks. On January 15, the commission ordered telcos to disconnect USSD codes for nine banks by January 27 due to unpaid debts.
By February 28, MTN Nigeria confirmed it had received N32 billion out of a total N72 billion owed by banks as part of the USSD debt settlement.