Key stakeholders in the Nigerian banking and telecommunications industry, at the end of their meeting on Monday resolved to charge a flat N6.98 per USSD service for financial transactions conducted at deposit money banks, with effect from March 16, 2021.
The meeting followed tension arising from protracted disagreements between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) concerning the appropriate USSD pricing model for financial transactions. This had resulted in the accumulation of outstanding fees estimated at about N42bn for USSD services already rendered, leading to potential service withdrawal by the MNOs.
Millions of Nigerians who use the short code platform to access banking services daily through their phones, were to have been affected if their banks had been disconnected by the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) from the service by March 15.
Monday’s meeting chaired by the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy was called, according to a joint statement issued by the National Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday, was to resolve the lingering dispute between the banks and the telcos, while ensuring uninterrupted services to customers.
The meeting chaired by the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy was called, according to a joint statement issued by the National Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday, was to resolve the lingering dispute between the banks and the telcos, while ensuring uninterrupted services to customers.
To ensure transparent administration of the process, the new USSD charges will be collected on behalf of MNOs directly from customers’ bank accounts, even as banks shall not impose additional charges on customers for use of the USSD channel.
According to the joint statement by Osita Nwanisobi, Acting Director, Corporate Communications at the CBN and Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, added that “settlement plan for outstanding payments incurred for USSD services, previously rendered by the MNOs, is being worked out by all parties in a bid to ensure that the matter is fully resolved.
USSD, the statement explained, is a critical channel for delivering financial services, particularly for the underserved and/or financially excluded, adding that the flat rate replaces the current per session billing structure. The new rate, the statement added, ensures a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion, besides being transparent, ensuring the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.
The joint statement explained further that the “MNOs and DMBs shall discuss and agree on the operational modalities for the implementation of the new USSD pricing framework, including sharing of Application Programme Interface (API) to enable seamless, direct and transparent customer billing.
At the meeting, where the various MNOs, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), DMBs (represented by the Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs) and the sector regulators —CBN and NCC, were represented, the banks and telcos expressed commitment to engaging further on strategies to lower cost and enhance access to financial services.
“With the above resolutions, the impending suspension of DMBs from the USSD channel is hereby vacated. Therefore, DMBs shall no longer be disconnected from the USSD channel,” the statement added.
Photo caption: The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami presiding over a high-level meeting of stakeholders (CBN, NCC, MNOs, and FSPs) over the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).
