NCC to banks: Stop charging customers on USSD transactions

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday directed all banks to stop debiting USSD transaction charges from customers’ bank accounts, with effect from Tuesday, June 3, 2025.

According to a notice sent by United Bank for Africa (UBA) to its customers, the charges for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services will now be deducted directly from mobile airtime balances, in line with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.

“Effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account,” the statement reads.

“These charges will now be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance.”

Under the new model, each USSD session will attract a N6.98 charge per 120 seconds, which will be billed by mobile network operators (MNOs), not the banks.

Customers will be prompted to give consent before any airtime deduction occurs, and deductions will only happen if the user confirms and the bank is available to complete the request.

“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel,” UBA added.

The new directive is the latest development in the prolonged dispute between Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) over unpaid USSD service charges.

By December 2024, the debt owed by banks to telcos had reportedly reached N250 billion, prompting threats by MNOs to suspend USSD services.

In response, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCC jointly directed both parties to resolve the issue and adopt the End-User Billing model, which shifts the responsibility of payment to the customers via their airtime.

With today’s implementation, customers using USSD banking services will now bear the cost directly, putting an end to deductions from bank balances for such transactions.