Four Banks' USSD Code May No Longer Work As Deadline To Clear Debt Ends

• Customers of four Nigerian banks risk losing access to USSD services following the expiration of the deadline to settle outstanding debts with telecom operators.
• The NCC has granted telecom operators the green light to disconnect USSD services for the affected banks until payment obligations are met
• USSD services are crucial for financial transactions in rural areas, where many Nigerians rely on technology due to limited access to internet-enabled devices

Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.

Only five out of nine banks owing telecommunication companies a cumulative N160 billion for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services have reportedly made partial payments following a January 27 disconnection deadline issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Legit.ng reported that the NCC in a notice dated January 15 warned that it would disconnect the USSD access of nine banks over their failure to settle debts accumulated since 2019.

Read also

Relief for customers as MTN, Glo, and 9mobile will no longer disconnect 9 banks’ USSD codes today

The affected banks and USSD code include Fidelity Bank Plc (770), First City Monument Bank (329), Jaiz Bank Plc (773), Polaris Bank Limited (833), Sterling Bank Limited (822), United Bank for Africa Plc (919), Unity Bank Plc (7799), Wema Bank Plc (945), and Zenith Bank Plc (966).

Banks make payment

BusinessDay reports that out of the nine banks, five banks made payments.

The report quoted an NCC official:

“Only four or fewer banks are yet to pay. They are responding. Banks have been responding since the advert came out"

Legit.ng made efforts to collaborate this information and reached out to Tony Emoekpere the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria. At the time of reporting, he is yet to reply.

However, a similar report from ThisDay claims that all banks have cleared their USSD debts and will now focus on reaching an agreement on USSD billing time.

Read also

7 Nigerian banks raise N1.3 trillion as race to beat CBN recapitalisation deadline heats up

The NCC and CBN stipulate that banks should begin billing customers for USSD transactions after 10 seconds from the start of the transaction.

The 10-second USSD billing time has been a source of disagreement and will now be the next issue to resolve.

How the USSD debt saga

The USSD debt controversy started in 2019 when telecom operators introduced USSD codes for banking transactions, under regulatory oversight from the NCC.

As part of the agreement, banks were to remit N6.98 per successful transaction to the telecom operators whose codes were used.

However, the non-remittance led to the accumulation of USSD debt, which reached over N200 billion in October 2024.

Between October and November 2024, several banks paid off their debts, reducing the total to N160 billion.

9mobile CEO on 50% tariff hike

Legit.ng reported that Obafemi Banigbe, the Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, has commended the decision of the Nigerian Communications Commission to approve a 50% tariff adjustment.

Read also

CBN lends N8.2trn to banks in first 17 days of 2025 to solve cash scarcity at ATMs

According to Banigbe, the tariff adjustment will enable operators to reinvest in critical infrastructure upgrades and capacity expansion

He noted that for years investment in the sector has been delayed due to financial constraints.

Source: Legit.ng