By Chinenye Anuforo
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and all CBN agreed licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98k per transaction.
In a jount press statement by NCC and CBN, the regulators noted that the above 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”, the regulators stated.
Recall that, MNOs and DMBs have had protracted disagreements concerning the appropriate USSD pricing model for financial transactions and this led to accumulation of outstanding fees for USSD services rendered leading to threat of service withdrawal by the MNOs.
The regulators noted that USSD is a critical channel for delivering financial services, particularly for the underserved and/or financially excluded and so, to resolve the lingering dispute and ensure uninterrupted services to customers on this channel, the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy on March 15, 2021 chaired a meeting of key stakeholders to discuss an amicable resolution in the interest of the general public. Represented at the meeting were the various MNOs, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), DMBs (represented by the Chairman, Body of Bank CEOs) and the sector regulators – Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Continuing, the statement read that, to promote transparency in the administration, the new USSD charges will be collected on behalf of MNOs directly from customers’ bank accounts. Banks shall not impose additional charges on customers for use of the USSD channel.
“Also, asettlement plan for outstanding payments incurred for USSD services, previously rendered by the MNOs, is being worked out by all parties in a bid to ensure that the matter is fully resolved.
MNOs and DMBs shall discuss and agree on the operational modalities for the implementation of the new USSD pricing framework, including sharing of Application Programme Interface (APIs) to enable seamless, direct and transparent customer billing. DMBs and MNOs are committed to engaging further on strategies to lower cost and enhance access to financial services.”
The NCC and CBN stated that with the above resolutions, the impending suspension of DMBs from the USSD channel has been vacated. “Therefore, DMBs shall no longer be disconnected from the USSD channel”, they stated.
Commenting on the development, Ike Nnamani, the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) commended the regulators on the resolution reached.
He said, “It is good a resolution was reached. It is good for the country that this was resolved amicably. Our position in ATCON was always that the operators need to be paid for use of the network infrastructure for service delivery by the financial industry. We are glad that has been agreed upon”, he said.
On his own part, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo also praised the regulators on the resolution adding that it is for benefit of all and sundry as it is never in their plan to take decision that would affect their subscribers.
The general public also was reminded that the USSD channel is optional, as several alternative channels such as mobile apps, internet banking and ATMs may be used for financial transactions.