NCC okays USSD fee deduction from customers airtime

NCC okays USSD fee deduction from customers airtime

Nigerian deposit banks will from June, 2025 deduct fees for unstructured supplementary service data transactions (USSD) transactions directly from the customers’ airtime.

This was contained in a directive to the banks by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The statement read, “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.

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“Going forward, these charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC’s End-User Billing model. Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of n6.98 per 120 seconds, which will be billed by your mobile network operator.

“You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfil this service. If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel.”

UBA said customers can continue using other digital banking options and the internet banking platform for convenience. The latest directive may be another move by the commission to address the historical USSD payment conflict between Mobile Network Operators and commercial banks.

In December 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC directed mobile network operators and DMBs to resolve the long-standing N250bn USSD debt.