MTN Nigeria Recovers N32 Billion in USSD Debt From Access, Zenith, UBA, Other Banks
- MTN Nigeria has revealed that it recovered N32 billion from Nigerian banks as part of the USSD debts
- The telecommunication company explained that it has N42 billion unrecovered debt from the banks
- MTN said the N32 billion recovery boosted its earnings in 2024 as it reported an impressive N3.3 trillion revenue
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
MTN Nigeria says it recovered N32 billion from Nigerian banks as part of the N74 billion outstanding debt owed to telcos for USSD service charges.
The telecom firm revealed that about N42 billion remained outstanding, showing ongoing tensions in the dispute between banks and telecom firms.
Source: UGC
CBN and NCC intervene in USSD debts
The debt recovery comes amid interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in December last year.
The regulators asked the banks to pay N212.5 billion, representing 85% of the N250 billion USSD debt owed to the telecom firms.
The regulators mandated the banks to settle 85% of the new invoices in one month and agree on a repayment plan by January 2025, to offset the remaining 60% of debts before accessing USSD services.
The regulators, acting as mediators, said failure to comply would attract sanctions, including fines and service disruptions.
MTN says recovered debt contributed to revenue
MTN Nigeria revealed that while the N32 billion recovered contributes to its cash flow, the outstanding N42,000 is still seen as receivables and is expected to be settled in 2025.
The USSD debt face-off comes after several years, with banks rejecting to pay over claims of disputed charges and revenue-sharing disagreements.
There are reports that banks have begun repayments, however, it remains unclear if there are any deadline violations and whether the regulators will penalise defaulters.
The telecom industry has asked for tougher enforcement, saying that inconsistent payments threaten financial inclusion.
MTN records impressive revenue growth
According to reports, the debt recovery boosted MTN’s earnings for 2024, contributing 3.1% of its service revenue, which rose by 35.9% to N3.3 trillion in 2024 from N2.4 trillion in 2023.
However, despite revenue growth, the telecom giant reported an after-tax loss of N400.44 billion, almost triple its N137.02 billion loss in 2023 due to the naira’s devaluation.
Telcos raise alarm over service disruption
The loss was exacerbated by rising tower lease costs and forex obligations, which rose due to foreign exchange volatility.
Meanwhile, the telecom companies raised an alarm of impending service disruptions due to tanker drivers’ strike.
The companies revealed that the strike threatens diesel supplies to their base stations nationwide.
Source: Getty Images
The telcos do not directly manage their base stations but outsource them to tower handling companies, which say that diesel supply shortages are threatened.
MTN finally breaks silence over 200% increase in data
Legit.ng earlier reported that MTN Nigeria telecommunications provider has finally reacted to the recent adjustment in its data tariffs that will see subscribers pay more.
This occurred after a significant increase in its data tariffs, with one package rising by as much as 200% according to the details on the telco's website.
According to a BusinessDay report, the original price of the data was N4,500 but was incentivised to N2,000 to drive internet consumption.
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Source: Legit.ng
