Access Bank, UBA, other banks settle N160 billion USSD debt to telecom firms

• Commercial banks person settled the outstanding N160 cardinal USSD indebtedness owed to telecommunication companies
• The main enforcement of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, disclosed this successful a caller interview, stating that the telcos person received afloat settlement
• Meanwhile, telecommunication companies and commercialized banks are successful talks to commencement charging for USSD work from subscribers’ airtime

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported connected tech, energy, stocks, concern and the economy for implicit a decade.

As commercialized banks and different fiscal institutions commence caller SMS alert interest charges, the lingering Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) indebtedness impasse betwixt banks and telecommunication companies has been afloat settled.

MTN Nigeria’s main enforcement officer, Karl Toriola, confirmed the improvement during an interrogation connected Arise Television arsenic helium spoke connected the Q1 fiscal results of the firm.

Telecommunication firms corroborate repayment of N160 cardinal USSD indebtedness by telecos. Credit: Novatis
Source: UGC

Lingering USSD debts pb to disconnections

Legit.ng reported that Nigeria’s starring telco returned to profitability aft grossing N1 trillion successful gross earnings, buoyed by information prices and naira stability.

The USSD indebtedness had been a large contented betwixt the 2 captious sectors successful Nigeria’s economy, lasting implicit 5 years.

In the 3rd 4th of 2024, the telcos disconnected immoderate commercialized banks implicit the debt, which was astir N200 billion.

CBN and NCC intervene

The disconnection led to the involution of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

According to reports, arsenic of November past year, the telecom regulator enactment the outstanding indebtedness astatine N160 billion.

The directive by the NCC to disconnect debtor banks prompted the fiscal institutions to comply with an earlier directive by the apex bank, which revealed a outgo plan.

However, the MTN Nigeria boss, Toriola, confirmed that the contented has been afloat settled and that banks person paid.

He said:

“I tin corroborate that the substance has been afloat resolved. We person received payments successful full. Special acknowledgment to the CBN, NCC, the banks, and different stakeholders that intervened successful the matter.”

Telcos commencement charging for USSD work from airtime

The Guardian reported that successful April 2025, the president of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed that the contented was receiving urgent attraction from the parties.

He said that telecom subscribers volition soon commencement paying for utilizing USSD with deductions from their airtime alternatively than slope deposits, Legit.ng reported.

The end-user billing strategy refers to a strategy successful which customers are charged straight for utilizing the USSD service, alternatively than the work supplier being charged.

The improvement to resoluteness aboriginal USSD debt

The improvement means customers’ airtime is debited for the USSD session, contempt immoderate consequent charges by the bank.

Experts accidental this is simply a departure from the accepted firm billing system, wherever banks were charged for USSD use.

The ALTON brag said talks are ongoing and the modalities are being enactment successful spot to conglomerate subscribers, telcos and the banks into a suite.

Nigerian banks afloat settee protracted USSD indebtedness to telecom firms. Credit: Picture Alliance/Contributor
Source: Getty Images

According to him, the end-user billing system, advocated for by the banks, whitethorn assistance to defender against accumulated debts, arsenic seen successful the impasse betwixt the banks and telcos.

MTN Nigeria spends N202 cardinal connected web upgrade

Legit.ng earlier reported that MTN Nigeria said it has invested N202.4 billion, representing 159% yearly, successful infrastructure upgrades and web enlargement to boost work transportation and capacity.

The institution disclosed this successful its unaudited financials for Q1 2025, saying its subscribers grew by 8.2% to 84.1 million, an summation of 3.2 cardinal subscribers during the reappraisal period.

The telco disclosed that its progressive information users accrued by 13.0% to 50.3 million, an further 2.6 cardinal users.

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Source: Legit.ng