Telecommunications operators in Nigeria can now directly access revenue generated from Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services, following the approval of a new billing model by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The newly adopted End-User Billing framework authorizes MTN, Airtel, 9mobile, and Glo to deduct USSD service charges directly from subscribers’ airtime balances. This eliminates the involvement of banks as intermediaries in the payment process.
Mobile network operators had raised concerns that banks were collecting USSD service fees from customers without remitting payments to the operators, despite having received services valued at over ₦200 billion by the end of 2024.
“Before now, banks would deduct the money from our accounts and fail to remit it to the telcos. It was always a problem,” the President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo.
Under the new End-User Billing model, subscribers will be charged ₦6.98 for each USSD session lasting up to 120 seconds, but only after they receive a prompt and consent to the deduction.
The NATCOMS president hailed the framework as a long-overdue reform that promotes greater transparency and accountability in the telecom sector, according to The PUNCH.
Ogunbanjo’s remarks came after the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria announced the rollout of the new billing regime on Wednesday.
As of last week, several commercial banks — including GTBank, UBA, and FCMB — had begun notifying customers that USSD transaction charges would now be deducted directly from their airtime balances.
He praised the NCC for spearheading the reform in collaboration with the CBN, expressing optimism that the new model would motivate telecom operators to enhance service delivery.
“Hopefully, the telcos will now use this to develop the telecom sector so that we won’t be having poor-quality services,” Ogunbanjo added.
The USSD billing dispute dates back to 2019, when telecom operators accused banks of failing to remit payments for services rendered.
In response, the CBN and NCC introduced an interim solution in 2021, implementing a flat-rate charge of ₦6.98 per USSD session, to be collected by banks on behalf of the telcos.
However, compliance remained inconsistent, with operators warning of service disruption and threatening to disconnect indebted banks.
ALTON Chair, Gbenga Adebayo, said, “This transition marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem. It aims to establish a transparent, sustainable, and customer-centric model for USSD service delivery.”
The telecom executive assured subscribers that USSD services would continue without interruption and confirmed that all existing codes for functions like balance checks, fund transfers, and bill payments would remain in use.
