MTN, Airtel, and other telcos reveal the truth about the new USSD charges by banks

• Telecom companies person threatened to retreat their USSD services for banks implicit what they called misinformation
• The telcos disclosed that the banks’ announcement to their customers connected the caller billing strategy and airtime deductions for USSD services was misleading
• The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) denied that the directive was from the NCC

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

Telecommunication operators successful Nigeria person threatened to retreat web enactment for banks’ Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), owed to what they telephone gross misinformation connected the mode of deductions for transaction fees.

USSD is done via shortcodes connected mobile phones and allows slope customers to marque transactions successful places with constricted oregon nary net service.

Telecommunication operators determination to disconnect banks implicit misinformation connected USSD charges. Credit: Novatis
Source: UGC

Banks notify customers of caller USSD billing system

On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, banks reportedly notified their customers that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed them to statesman charging them from their airtime alternatively than from customers’ accounts.

The banks stated that the telcos volition present deduct charges straight from users’ airtime.

The announcement partially reads:

“In enactment with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), delight beryllium informed that effectual June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services volition nary longer beryllium deducted from your slope account.

“Going forward, these charges volition beryllium deducted straight from your mobile airtime equilibrium by the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.”

Banks clarify caller billing system

The banks disclosed that nether the caller billing system, each USSD league volition pull a complaint of N6.98 per 120 seconds, which volition beryllium billed connected the customers’ mobile web operators.

According to the notice, customers volition person a changeless punctual astatine the opening of each session, and airtime volition lone beryllium charged upon confirmation and availability of the slope to fulfil the service.

They disclosed that customers whitethorn discontinue USSD banking nether the caller model.

Telcos debunk caller billing system

Responding, the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) disclosed that the banks’ notices were grossly misleading and deliberately designed to suit their selfish interest.

Vanguard quotes Gbenga Adebayo, ALTON Chairman, arsenic saying that the banks are twisting agreements and distorting accusation to their advantage.

Adebayo said that the accusation was not from the NCC but a associated regulatory statement betwixt the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, with the telcos arsenic witnesses.

The ALTON brag disclosed that the woody was that if the banks yet cleared each USSD debts owed to the telcos by June 2, 2025, they could migrate to an end-user billing strategy if the migration exemplary is transparent and agreed to by the telcos. 

The caller billing strategy is conditional

Adebayo revealed that the clause was owed to the telcos’ insistence connected migration processes that volition not let customers to beryllium billed twice.

This means that a subscriber would not person their airtime deducted and slope accounts debited for the aforesaid service.

“As we speak, immoderate of the banks person cleared their debts, but the bulk are yet to bash so. So, adjacent if each the modalities of migrating to end-user billing person been perfectly carried out, the implementation cannot adjacent statesman due to the fact that the banks person yet to wide the USSD indebtedness owed to the telcos.“Our presumption present is that if that is the mode the banks privation to dainty the agreement, we whitethorn retreat enactment for their USSD services. It is not a must-have. They tin bash without it. But, they should wide the debts arsenic agreed,” helium said.

Banks to migrate customers

A erstwhile study by Legit.ng disclosed that Telecommunication subscribers and slope customers volition soon beryllium charged for utilizing Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) done deductions from their airtime. 

Reports accidental talks person precocious betwixt commercialized banks and the telcos to present an end-user billing system. Telecommunication subscribers and slope customers volition soon beryllium charged for utilizing Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) done deductions from their airtime. 

Banks denote caller USSD charges for customers nether the caller billing system. Credit: Picture Alliance/Contributor
Source: Getty Images

Reports accidental talks person precocious betwixt commercialized banks and the telcos to present an end-user billing system. 

MTN Nigeria recovers N32 cardinal successful USSD debt

Legit.ng earlier reported that MTN Nigeria says it recovered N32 billion from Nigerian banks arsenic portion of the N74 cardinal outstanding indebtedness owed to telcos for USSD work charges.

The telecom steadfast revealed that astir N42 cardinal remained outstanding, showing ongoing tensions successful the quality betwixt banks and telecom firms.

The indebtedness betterment comes amid interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) successful December past year.

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Source: Legit.ng