Financial institutions operating in Nigeria have stopped deducting charges for USSD banking services from the bank accounts of their customers.

This is in compliance with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), with fees to henceforth be deducted from airtime balance of customers.

The new directive became effective today, Tuesday, June 3, 2025.

This policy came after telecom operators accused financial institution of not paying for the USSD banking services it rendered to its customers.

They had earlier threatened to suspend the service but the regulators, including the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), intervened to find a lasting solution.

Already, some banks have started to inform their customers of this new development.

One of them, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, in a message to customers, said, “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.

“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 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 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.

“Alternative digital banking options, such as our mobile app and internet banking platform, remain available for your convenience.

“We remain committed to delivering secure, accessible, and customer-friendly banking services.”