The Nigerian Communications Commission has instructed deposit money banks to cease deducting charges for USSD transactions directly from customers’ bank accounts.

Instead, these fees will now be taken from users’ mobile airtime.

This change was communicated to customers by the United Bank for Africa in an email on Tuesday.

According to the email, the directive takes effect from June 3 (today).

“In line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), please be informed that effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account,” the statement reads.

“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.

“Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of ₦6.98 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 fulfil this service.

“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel.”

UBA said customers can still use other digital banking options and internet banking for convenience.

The new directive may be part of the NCC’s effort to resolve the ongoing USSD payment dispute between mobile network operators and banks.

In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria and NCC ordered MNOs and banks to settle the long-standing ₦250 billion USSD debt.

After telcos threatened to withdraw services due to the debt owed by banks, the NCC warned in January that it might suspend USSD services and publish a list of banks still indebted to the telcos.