Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Nigerian Communications Commission NCC has taken the initiative to engage the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN towards resolving the outstanding Unstructured Supplementary Service Data USSD debt between the telecos and the banks currently estimated at N250billion
Responding, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said that the telecos might be forced to disconnect the banks from the USSD platform if urgent steps were not taken to resolve the unpaid debts, which arose from the use of quick codes by their customers.
USSD code is the quick or feature code in the global system for mobile communications GSM that facilitates a range of services, including text messaging and financial transactions such as cash transfers and balance inquiries.
On the other hand, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria ALTON, Gbolahan Awonuga, said that the debt burden has increased to N250 billion, which the ALTON members can no longer tolerate .
The stakeholders insist that the intervention of the NCC with the CBN demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to resolving the debt debacle and, by o doing, maintain the stability of the country’s financial and telecommunications sectors. They have also argued that both sectors, which play vital roles in nation’s economy, insist that resolving the USSD debt issue is timely and crucial to ensuring smooth operations and continued growth of the two all-import sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
In 2019, telecommunications companies (telcos) disclosed that they may be unable to continue to provide USSD services for free, proposing to take a cut of N4.50k per 20 seconds from the charges paid by customers to banks.
The banks had objected to this proposal, claiming it would result in a 450 per cent increase in costs. Some experts had, however, raised concerns that as the debt continued to accumulate, it might become unsustainable for both parties, which might leave the mobile network operators (MNOs) who might suspend USSD services for banking operations.
Contributing, NCC, Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde noted that it had become necessary for the Commission to intervene in order to amicably resolve the USSD debt issue. He therefore expressed that the issue would be resolved in no distant time.
“I was further gathered that the Commission is concluding plans to introduce new reforms aimed at improving tariff transparency in the telecommunications industry. These new reforms would, in the coming months, require telecom operators to provide clear and easily accessible information on tariff plans, billing rates, and terms and conditions associated with the provision of their services.” He noted.
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