adplus-dvertising
Business News

USSD debt: NCC grants telcos approval to disconnect FCMB, Zenith, 7 other banks 

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted approval to Mobile Network Operators comprising MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes of nine commercial banks from their networks.

This follows years of complaints by the telecom operators over the non-payment of debt owed by the banks for the USSD service, for which the banks continue to charge their customers.

According to a notice issued on Wednesday by the NCC, the banks to be disconnected include First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Zenith Bank, Sterling Bank, Jaiz Bank, UBA, Polaris Bank, Unity Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Wema Bank.

If the disconnect is implemented, millions of bank customers will not be able to carry out transactions using USSD.

The banks, however, have been given a two-week grace to settle their debts with the telcos, failure upon which their codes will be disconnected.

“The Commission will thereafter recover such Codes and may reassign them to other applicants in accordance with the applicable instruments.  

“In fulfilment of its consumer protection mandate, the Commission wishes to inform consumers that they may be unable to access the USSD platform of the affected financial institutions from January 27, 2025,” the Commission said in the notice signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka. 

“The financial institutions have been duly notified of the need for immediate compliance in accordance with the Commission’s Guidelines on Short Code Operation in Nigeria, 2023,” the NCC added.

In December 2024, the CBN and NCC issued a circular requiring banks to settle USSD debt. The circular mandated that banks pay a percentage of outstanding invoices and agree to payment plans. It also directed banks to stop legal actions related to the debt.

WATCH FULL VIDEO

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE