The nation’s telecoms regulatory body, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt totalling N250 billion between the telecom operators and the commercial banks in the country, the Daily Post has reported.
USSD, known as quick service codes, is a global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocol used to send text messages and initiate financial transactions such as cash transfers, balance inquiries, payments for services and others.
USSD platform also forms an interface between banks and telecom service providers, as the telecom operators provide the platform the banks use to service their customers at a shared revenue agreement.
However, over the years, the platform, which is widely relied upon by millions of Nigerians for quick and efficient mobile transactions, has been a point of disagreement between the banks and telecom operators.
The crisis dates back to 2019 when telcos proposed charging N4.50 per 20 seconds of USSD usage in order to cover operational costs after years of providing the service for free.
Telecom service providers had argued that since the banks are using the service to generate money from their customers, the revenue should be shared with the platform service providers. The banks, which kicked against this, relented after mediations.
Despite the mediations and agreements reached, banks reneged on payment structure, resulting in occasional hiccups in the service provision to bank customers, and constant threats of service disruption by telecom operators.
Last month, at a forum, Executive Secretary of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbolahan Awonuga, had alleged that commercial banks owe telecoms operators a whooping N250billion in unpaid debt.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, had also threathened that banks might be disconnected from the USSD platform due to rising debt from the use of the USSD service by their customers.
Toriola had said that mobile network operators (MNOs) might, subject to regulatory approval, suspend use of the service on the network for banking operations, as the debt had continued to pile up and was becoming unsustainable to the operators.
In this recent move towards a permanent resolution, Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said the Commission was hopeful that the issue would soon be settled.
According to him: “The NCC remains committed to ensuring that the interests of all stakeholders—consumers, telcos, and banks—are protected.”
He insisted that a resolution is critical to maintaining the seamless operation of mobile financial services that millions of Nigerians depend on daily.
Adinde, who also said plans are on to introduce reforms at enhancing tariff transparency in the telecommunications industry, believed the new move between the NCC and the CBN would put the debt issue finally to rest.
On transparency and responsibility policy, Adinde said the changes, set to roll out in the coming months, will require telecom operators to provide consumers with clear, easily accessible tables outlining tariff plans, billing rates, and the terms and conditions associated with their services.
