Telcos get banks’ payment plan for N120b USSD debt
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Telecom firms have offered banks a payment plan for the N120 billion debt on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service that has been a subject of dispute for four years.
An industry source confirmed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is intervening in the dispute, and plans a meeting with both parties.
The source said in the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), “Work is going on and we would soon have a meeting with the telcos. We are going to talk about what the banks have told us. Modalities for payments, the banks are ready to pay.
“The CBN has called all of us to try to resolve the matter. We are looking at a way of fulfilling the promise. Banks have made commitments to pay.”
Telcos and banks have been at loggerheads since 2019 over the debt, which was N32 billion that year but rose consistently to the current N120 billion, per Vanguard.
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Banks ramp up N120b USSD debt, telcos threaten to end service
Telecom firms in May threatened to end USSD platform because of the N120 billion debt owed them by banks whose customers use the channel for electronic transactions.
The debt reached N100 billion in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023) and ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo said banks failed to pay up, which increased the debt to N120 billion in May.
“Discussions are ongoing, we have regulatory intervention by both the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at a very high level. Some of the banks are paying while others seem waiting until service is withdrawn in an attempt to test our resolve to get them to pay,” he disclosed.
“If this CBN/NCC intervention fails, we will withdraw USSD service from debtor banks at some points. The outstanding now is in the region of N120 billion and no sector can survive the magnitude of rising debt.
“The banks have a moral obligation because these are services for which money has been deducted from their customers.”
A fee of N6.98 has been charged per USSD transaction since 16 March 2021 as agreed by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the CBN, and the NCC.
The agreement said the new USSD charges would be collected on behalf of mobile network operators (MNOs) directly from customers and banks would not impose additional charges on customers for the use of the channel.
Before the N6.98 per transaction regime, a typical USSD session lasting 20 seconds cost ₦4.98.
A statement jointly signed by the NCC and CBN on the N6.98 fee said: “This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion.
“This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.”
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