The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services for bank transactions.
Effective Tuesday, March 16th 2021, customers are to pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time they use USSD services.
This was contained in a statement released on Tuesday titled; ‘Joint Statement By Central Bank Of Nigeria and Nigerian Communications Commission On Pricing Of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Services’, and jointly signed by CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi and the Director of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde.
CBN said the new charges was part of the agreement reached when banks and telecommunication operators met on Monday to discuss the N42 billion debt banks owe mobile operators.
The statement read in part; “We are pleased to announce that after comprehensive deliberations on the key issues, a resolution framework acceptable to all parties was agreed thus:
“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs (Deposit Money Banks) and all CBN-licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction. This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion. This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.
“To promote transparency in its administration, the new USSD charges will be collected on behalf of MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) directly from customers’ bank accounts. Banks shall not impose additional charges on customers for us of the USSD channel.”
Last week, the Federal Government had asked telecommunication operators to halt the suspension of USSD services over a N42 billion debt owed by banks.
A meeting with financial institutions and mobile network operators was scheduled on Monday by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami
