The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has told all banks in Nigeria to stop taking USSD charges directly from their customers’ bank accounts.
According to an email from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) sent to customers on Tuesday, the charges will now come from your phone credit (airtime) instead. This change started today, June 3rd.
“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,” the statement reads.
“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing (EUB) model.
“Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, which will be billed by your mobile network operator.
“You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfil this service.
“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel.”
How it works now
Each time you use USSD banking, you’ll pay ₦6.98 for every two minutes. Your phone company (MTN, Airtel, Glo, or 9mobile) will take this money from your airtime balance. Before any money is taken, you’ll get a message asking if you agree to pay the charge.
UBA said customers can still use other ways to do their banking, like mobile apps and internet banking.
Why this change happened
This decision comes after years of fighting between phone companies and banks over who should pay for USSD services. Banks have been using the phone companies’ networks but haven’t been paying them properly.
In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC directed phone companies and banks to sort out a huge ₦250 billion debt problem.
The situation got worse when phone companies threatened to withdraw USSD services because banks weren’t paying what they owed. In January, the NCC threatened to suspend all USSD services and publish a list of banks that still owed money.
Things became really serious on 15th January when the NCC directed phone companies to cut off USSD services for nine banks by 27th January because these banks hadn’t paid their debts.
By February, MTN Nigeria said it received ₦32 billion from banks as part payment, though banks still owed MTN ₦72 billion in total.
