The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has instructed deposit money banks (DMBs) to cease deducting unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) transaction fees directly from customers’ bank accounts.
Instead, the charges will now be deducted from users’ mobile airtime, according to a message sent to customers by the “United Bank for Africa (UBA)” on Tuesday.
“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.”
The “UBA” noted that customers may continue using other digital platforms, including its internet banking services, for convenience.
This latest policy shift appears to be part of ongoing efforts by the NCC to resolve the prolonged USSD payment dispute between mobile network operators (MNOs) and banks.
In December 2024, the “Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)” and the “NCC” jointly instructed MNOs and DMBs to address the lingering “₦250 billion USSD debt.”
Amid rising tensions, telcos threatened to cut USSD access over the outstanding fees. In January, the NCC warned it would suspend USSD services and publish the names of banks still owing.
On January 15, the commission directed mobile operators to disconnect USSD codes assigned to nine banks by January 27 due to non-payment.
Subsequently, on February 28, “MTN Nigeria” disclosed it had received “₦32 billion — out of ₦72 billion” from banks as partial repayment of the USSD debt.