The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has mandated banks to begin charging customers for USSD banking services directly from their mobile airtime instead of deducting from their bank accounts.
This new directive, which took effect on June 3, 2025, was communicated to customers in a notice from the United Bank for Africa (UBA). The bank informed users that, in line with the NCC’s End-User Billing model, all charges for USSD services will now be billed by mobile network operators.
As outlined in the message, a USSD session will now cost ₦6.98 per 120 seconds. Before any airtime deduction is made, users will receive a consent prompt at the beginning of each session, and charges will only apply upon confirmation and service availability.
Customers who prefer not to continue with this model have the option to stop using USSD services and can instead make use of internet and digital banking alternatives for their transactions.
This move appears to be part of ongoing efforts by the NCC to resolve the longstanding conflict between Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) over unpaid USSD service fees, a debt that has reached approximately ₦250 billion.
Earlier in the year, the NCC had threatened to suspend USSD services and disconnect certain banks for non-payment. MTN Nigeria later confirmed receiving ₦32 billion from banks as partial payment towards the outstanding debt, whereas the banks owe N72billion naira to the communications firm, a development the MTN reveals is detrimental to their services and business.