Nigeria’s telecommunications operators have issued a stern warning to banks, threatening to withdraw support for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) banking services over what they describe as “deliberate misinformation” and unresolved financial obligations.
Operators under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), including major players like MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9Mobile, are accusing banks of misrepresenting the terms of a recent billing arrangement involving USSD transactions commonly used for mobile bank transfers via shortcodes.
On Tuesday, several banks notified customers that, following a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), USSD charges would henceforth be deducted from users’ mobile airtime balances instead of their bank accounts. According to the banks, this change would take effect from June 3, 2025, in line with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.
Part of the banks’ statement read:
“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…”
However, ALTON has pushed back hard against this narrative, calling the announcement a “gross distortion” of the actual agreement and a maneuver by banks to shift public perception and sidestep their responsibilities.
“Banks Are Not Being Honest” – ALTON Chairman
Speaking to journalists, ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo clarified that the transition to end-user billing was never a unilateral NCC directive. Instead, it was the outcome of a joint regulatory agreement between the NCC, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), telecom operators, and the banks themselves.
Adebayo explained that the agreement explicitly stated that banks could only implement the new billing model if all outstanding USSD debts owed to telecom operators were cleared by June 2, 2025.
“I don’t understand why the banks are twisting agreements and distorting facts to suit their own interests,” Adebayo said. “There was no directive from the NCC. What exists is a joint regulatory agreement witnessed by all parties. The migration to end-user billing is conditional on the banks settling their debts to us.”
According to Adebayo, while a few banks have made payments, the majority are still in default, making it impossible to implement the new billing method in good faith. He added that the telecoms’ insistence on a transparent process is to protect consumers from being double-billed once through airtime and again through their bank accounts.
Service Withdrawal on the Table
If the situation persists, ALTON says it may have no choice but to cut off USSD services to the banks.
“USSD is not a mandatory service. If the banks want to act in bad faith, we may withdraw support entirely. But they must settle their debts, as agreed,” Adebayo warned.
The telecom industry’s threat, if carried out, could severely impact millions of Nigerians especially those in remote areas who depend on USSD banking as their primary means of accessing financial services.
