By Hannatu Jun, 08, 2021 Private

Mobile network operators in Nigeria have claimed that commercial banks owe them up to N50 billion naira in unpaid charges for USSD services.

Recall that Nigerian banks and mobile network telco providers had a disagreement in March over fees, which led to the temporary suspension of USSD banking services.

According to Guardian, present at the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, this debt was at N45 billion in April and only keeps accumulating because banks refuse to do the appropriate thing and pay up.

After several appeals to the banking community for repayment of this debt, mobile network operators had resolved to discontinue all USSD services on their lines once again but were stopped by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Central Bank swiftly intervened and gave a matching order to the banks to repay the loan.

“They were also asked to kick-start the new regime of USSD charge of N6.98k.The new USSD charge took effect from June 1,” a source reported.

Banks have already informed their customers of the new price that comes with USSD transactions.

The message, which is displayed as soon as customers dial the short USSD code reads, “Please be informed that you are now required to pay a fee of N6.98 to your Mobile Network Operator for every banking transaction carried out on all USSD banking platforms."

In simpler terms, this means that for any time you access any banking service using USSD, a fee of N6.98 will be charged to your bank account, which is in turn remitted in full by your bank, to your Mobile Network Provider. First Bank only collects and remits the fees on behalf of the telco for the use of the USSD platform

While the N6.98 is to be remitted directly to the telcos, it was also gathered that representatives from both the banking and telecoms sector will hold meetings to discuss the sharing percentage.

This decision to charge users was arrived at in March by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The decision was part of an agreement between banks and telecoms following an earlier disagreement between banks and telecoms firms over USSD and other text message transaction requests.

The CBN and the NCC released a joint statement that introduced the new USSD charges, in a bid to promote transparency. The statement also added that the charges would be collected on behalf of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), who provide the infrastructure for the services to operate, directly from customers’ bank accounts.

The joint statement by CBN and NCC read, “We are pleased to announce that after comprehensive deliver up operations on the key issues, a resolution framework acceptable to all parties was agreed thus:

“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs (Deposit Money Banks) and all CBN-licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction. This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion.

“To promote transparency in its administration, the new USSD charges will be collected on behalf of MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) directly from customers’ bank accounts. Banks shall not impose additional charges on customers for use of the USSD channel."

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