Nigeria’s commercial banks and telecommunications operators have resolved a four-year dispute over an estimated N300 billion debt arising from Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services, easing tensions that once threatened the country’s digital financial ecosystem.
The resolution was disclosed on Saturday by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), during a formal visit to the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida.
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Adebayo attributed the breakthrough largely to the leadership of Maida, noting that the USSD debt crisis was among the most pressing challenges inherited by the current NCC management.
“When Dr. Maida assumed office, he inherited significant industry challenges. One of the most difficult was the USSD debt crisis, a debt burden that grew over four years to nearly N300 billion. It had become a systemic risk to our sector and the digital financial ecosystem,” Adebayo said.
He added that what was once a looming crisis was resolved through structured engagement, firm regulatory oversight, and sustained collaboration between industry stakeholders.
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Regulatory intervention by the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), particularly the approval of a 50 percent increase in USSD tariffs last year, also played a pivotal role in facilitating debt repayments and stabilising the system.
The settlement marks a significant milestone for both the telecom and banking industries, providing clarity on payment frameworks and strengthening the reliability of USSD services — a critical channel for financial inclusion in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Maida assured stakeholders of the commission’s commitment to deepening collaboration across both sectors.
“We will ensure that all plans are implemented. In fact, we will widen engagement so that we can hear you better and react faster. These issues concern us as well, and we will continue to deepen our workings,” he said.
The resolution comes months after the transition to the End-User Billing (EUB) model, under which USSD charges are deducted directly from customers’ mobile airtime rather than from their bank accounts. The shift, which began between June 3 and 18, 2025, followed partial repayments of about N171 billion by banks.
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Under the EUB framework, each USSD session attracts a charge of N6.98 per 120 seconds. Charges are billed by mobile network operators, with user consent prompts issued before each deduction — a structure designed to enhance transparency and consumer control, similar to voice and SMS billing.
By February 19, 2026, banks had fully cleared the outstanding balance, effectively consolidating the nationwide rollout of the EUB system and bringing closure to one of the sector’s most protracted disputes.
