USSD fees to be deducted from airtime – NCC 

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to begin deducting charges for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions directly from customers’ mobile airtime, rather than their bank accounts.

This development was communicated to customers via an email from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, confirming the commencement of the new billing directive.

“In line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, please be informed that effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account,” UBA stated. “Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing model.”

Under the new arrangement, each USSD session will incur a charge of ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, to be billed by the customer’s mobile network operator. Customers will receive a prompt requesting their consent at the start of each session. Airtime will only be deducted if the customer confirms and the bank is able to process the request.

UBA advised customers who prefer not to use USSD under the new billing system to explore other digital options such as internet banking and mobile apps for their transactions.

This latest move is seen as part of the NCC’s efforts to resolve the long-standing USSD billing dispute between mobile network operators and commercial banks — a conflict that has led to a debt pile of over ₦250 billion owed to telecom operators.

In December 2024, the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) jointly directed both parties to resolve the debt issue. The situation escalated in early 2025 when telecom operators threatened to withdraw USSD services to banks over non-payment.

On January 15, the NCC ordered telcos to disconnect USSD codes assigned to nine defaulting banks by January 27. By the end of February, MTN Nigeria confirmed it had received ₦32 billion out of the ₦72 billion it was owed by banks, signaling a partial resolution.

Despite progress, telcos continue to express concern over delayed payments, lack of transparency, and discrepancies in USSD billing. The new End-User Billing model aims to shift the cost burden directly to users, ensuring telecom operators are compensated in real time while eliminating disputes over who should bear the transaction fees.

The NCC’s directive is expected to streamline billing, enhance transparency, and provide a more sustainable framework for USSD banking services across the country.