Bank customers to pay for USSD services with airtime after NCC directive

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed Deposit Money Banks to begin deducting charges for unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) transactions directly from users’ mobile airtime.

In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC directed mobile network operators and DMBs to resolve the long-standing N250 billion USSD debt.

On February 28, MTN Nigeria said it received N32 billion out of N72 billion from banks as part of payment for the USSD debt. According to industry insiders, the dispute over USSD charges is now over. To avoid a repeat, USSD fees will be directly deducted from users’ airtime, enabling prompt remittance to telcos.

“The charges will no longer be deducted from customers’ accounts,” United Bank for Africa(UBA) told customers on Tuesday. “The directive takes effect from Tuesday, June 3.”

Read also: Nigerian banks ordered to stop charging USSD fees from customer accounts

The email sent by UBA read, “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.

“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing model.”

Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of N6.98 per 120 seconds. Users will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon their confirmation.

“You will be asked to approve the charge before it’s deducted from your airtime. If you prefer, you can use other banking channels like ATMs, mobile apps, or Internet banking,” added First City Monument Bank (FCMB).