The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently approved the disconnection of debtor money deposit banks (DMBs) by mobile network operators (MNOs), citing unresolved disputes over unpaid fees for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services.
USSD, a text-based system similar to SMS, allows banking customers to perform transactions via short codes without requiring a smartphone. This method is widely preferred for its accessibility. However, a long-standing conflict between banks and telecom operators over the payment of USSD session fees has escalated.
As of November 2024, the debt has ballooned to over ₦160 billion, with its origin traced back to September 2019. Despite multiple interventions, including joint circulars from the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in July and December 2024, the banks failed to settle the outstanding debts.
Read also: The Lekki Headmaster as 2025 UTME Reading Text
The efforts to resolve the issue amicably failed, prompting the NCC’s recent decision to allow disconnections, marking a significant move in enforcing compliance and resolving the financial deadlock.
As for now, the USSD service standoff continues to affect banking customers relying on this critical service.
