USSD charge agreed by telcos, not imposed — CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the new charge of N6.98 per transaction every time customers use the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service was not imposed but agreed by the telecommunication companies.

Daily Trust had reported that the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) just announced the introduction of the new charge.

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Both regulatory agencies in a joint statement said customers will pay a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction on USSD service effective March 16, 2021.

However, a senior management source who spoke with Daily Trust, said: “We have noted that a section of the media misrepresented the outcome of Monday’s meeting to indicate that the CBN has imposed another fee payable by the banking customer.

“It is important to clarify that this charge was mutually agreed by the telecommunication operators and the banks, with the CBN merely facilitating a mutually beneficial resolution to what has been a loggerhead for some time.”

Prior to the intervention, Telecommunication firms under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), had announced that their members will withdraw their Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services to financial institutions due to huge accumulated debt.