Banks begin deduction if USSD charges from Airtime

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The Nigerian telecommunications industry is embroiled in a dispute over USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) charges, with banks and telecom operators holding differing views. Some deposit money banks (DMBs) have informed customers that USSD charges will be deducted directly from their airtime instead of bank accounts starting June 3, 2025.

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However, telecom operators have faulted this claim, stating that this cannot happen without formal agreements. According to Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), “When we pay, telcos can migrate them to the end-user billing after they have fulfilled their debt obligations with the operators… We are supposed to agree on this and sign a service level agreement on how those will be transparently done.”

Adebayo expressed surprise that banks have announced the migration without concluding agreements on protocols and service level agreements (SLAs). “We are also surprised about the announcement reading that NCC and telcos have now agreed to start end-user billing; that is not correct!” He emphasized that telecom operators are ready to migrate banks that have fulfilled their obligations, but those that haven’t will not be allowed to charge users

Banks like First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and StanbicIBTC have sent emails to customers informing them of the change. FCMB’s message reads: “Each USSD session will cost N6.98 per 120 seconds, charged by your mobile network. You will be asked to approve the charge before it’s deducted from your airtime.”

StanbicIBTC’s message also stated: “Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of N6.98 per 120 seconds, which will be billed by your mobile network operator. You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfill this service.”

The dispute highlights the need for clear agreements and protocols between telecom operators and banks to ensure seamless and transparent billing for USSD services

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