Mariam Abeeb
The age-long dispute between the Nigerian telecoms operators and commercial banks over the accrued N250 billion USSD debt is about to be resolved eventually.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently disclosed the telecoms sector regulatory Commission again, is discussing with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on modalities to resolve the longstanding issue between the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and commercial banks amicably.
The USSD debt has resulted from the banks’ use of the MNOs’ Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for millions of their customers in the electronic payments ecosystem.
USSD, also known as quick or feature codes, is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol used to send text messages, and initiate financial transactions, including cash transfers, balance inquiries, payments for services, and others.
It should be noted that the estimated N250 billion debt had accrued from hitherto N120 billion and N150 billion debt in the last few years.
Speaking on the Commission and CBN’s joint effort at resolving the banks’ N250 billion USSD debt owed to the Telcos, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) of NCC, disclosed the Commission is hopeful that the lingering debt issue would be settled soon.
Dr. Adinde, who stated this at a recent training programme for journalists on emerging trends in the telecoms sector, in Lagos, also touched on the telecoms regulator’s plans to introduce reforms with the objective of enhancing tariff transparency in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.
According to NCC, these changes, set for unveiling in the coming months, will require network operators to provide telecoms consumers with clear, easily accessible tables outlining tariff plans, billing rates, and the terms and conditions associated with their services.
It is also recalled that Mr. Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, October 2024, reportedly said that telecoms firms might disconnect the banks from their USSD platform due to the mounting debt arising from the use of the quick codes by their customers.
Perhaps in regard to the far-reaching effects of the unpaid USSD debt on operations of MNOs, Toriola noted that Telcos, subject to regulatory approval, might suspend supporting the use of the service on the networks for banking operations.
He also contended that the debt has continued to pile up and is becoming unsustainable to the network operators in the telecoms industry.
