The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, has strongly criticized Nigerian banks over what he described as deliberate distortion of facts regarding the planned shift to airtime-based billing for USSD transactions.
Reacting to recent bank notices claiming that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) mandated the migration to the End-User Billing (EUB) model from June 3, 2025, Adebayo accused the banks of misrepresenting a joint regulatory agreement to serve their own interests.
Earlier this month, several Nigerian banks, including UBA and FCMB, issued notices to customers claiming that, effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services would be deducted from customers’ airtime instead of their bank accounts.
However, this claim has sparked controversy, as telecommunications operators have condemned the banks’ announcement, describing it as misleading and self-serving.
“I don’t understand why the banks are twisting agreements and distorting information just to favour their selfish interests,” Adebayo said. “There was no directive from the NCC. What exists is a joint regulatory framework agreed upon by the CBN and NCC, with input from telcos and banks.”
According to him, the agreement allowed for a shift to the end-user billing model only if all outstanding USSD debts owed to telecom operators by the banks were fully cleared by June 2, 2025.
Even then, the migration was to be conditional on transparency and the prevention of double billing — where a customer is charged both from their airtime and bank account.
“As we speak, only a few banks have cleared their USSD debts. Most are still in default. So even if the technical integration was ready, the implementation of the end-user billing cannot commence under the current circumstances,” Adebayo added.
The disagreement over USSD billing is the latest in a long-standing feud between Nigerian banks and telcos, primarily concerning the N250 billion USSD debt accrued from years of unremitted payments.
In December 2024, in a bid to resolve the impasse, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCC jointly ordered all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to resolve the outstanding debt.
Following several warnings, the NCC in January 2025 threatened to suspend USSD services and publish a list of defaulting banks. On January 15, the Commission instructed telcos to disconnect the USSD short codes assigned to nine banks over unpaid debts, with a deadline of January 27.
MTN Nigeria, one of the largest mobile operators in the country, confirmed in February 2025 that it had received N32 billion from the banks, a partial payment of its N72 billion claim.
Adebayo’s remarks underscore growing tensions between telcos and banks, as both industries struggle to resolve the contentious issue of USSD service charges and the billions of naira in unpaid debt.