FG shifts USSD charges to airtime as banks lose right to deduct from customers

The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has issued a directive mandating all banks to stop deducting USSD transaction charges directly from customer bank accounts.

Effective Tuesday, June 3, 2025, users will now have USSD fees debited from their mobile airtime instead.

This change was confirmed in a message from United Bank for Africa (UBA) to its customers, in line with the NCC’s newly adopted End-User Billing (EUB) model.

Under the revised structure, each USSD session will cost ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, with mobile network operators now responsible for collecting the charges — not the banks. Customers will be required to approve the deduction via a pop-up prompt before any airtime is charged. If a user declines or the bank cannot process the request, no deduction will be made.

The new model gives users the option to discontinue the use of USSD services altogether if they prefer not to incur charges via airtime. Banks have also encouraged customers to explore alternative digital channels such as mobile banking apps and internet banking platforms, which do not rely on USSD codes.

This policy shift follows years of unresolved disputes between banks and telecom operators over unpaid USSD service debts. By the end of 2024, banks were said to owe telecom companies around ₦250 billion for previously rendered USSD services.

The situation escalated in January 2025, when the NCC gave telcos the authority to cut off USSD services to defaulting banks. Shortly after, MTN Nigeria announced it had received ₦32 billion from banks — a partial payment of the ₦72 billion it was owed.

The NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had previously issued several warnings to both parties, urging resolution. The latest directive appears to be a decisive step in ending the standoff, shifting the cost burden directly to users while relieving banks of the intermediary role in fee collection.