Customers Groan As Banks Suspend MTN Subscribers From USSD Service

Bank Customers using the MTN mobile communication network have been disconnected from using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data and banking apps.

MTN customers complained on Friday about their inability to recharge their MTN lines using USSD and other banking channels like the bank apps.

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Customers were also unable to do banking transactions on MTN lines through USSD.

Sources in the telecom industry stated blamed the development on the banks who had refused to give any formal communication prior to the disconnection.

He said, “Please note that MTN didn’t cut off customers and has no hand in this. This is strictly the banks acting on their own.

“We woke up this morning to see that MTN customers were cut off from USSD services overnight. This has come as a surprise as there was no formal communication from the banks to their customers prior to their taking this action.”

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It was learnt that MTN had reduced the banks’ commission from an average of 3.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent which predicated the actions of the banks.

Findings showed that the contract with convenience channel partners and aggregators through which they were indirectly connected to the banks allowed the reduction.

An official in the telecom firm stated, “The channels were blocked midnight leaving our customers stranded. Interesting that the bank Managing Directors met and quickly took a decision.

“Subscribers to telecommunications are being denied services by the banks even when they have money in their accounts.”

It was learnt that Zenith bank, which was connected directly to MTN and had their earnings at 2.70 per cent, was the only bank that had not blocked the Telco.

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However, banks on MOD that had an uplift in their commission from 2.0 per cent to 2.75 per cent have blocked services.

According to findings, the banks were unwilling to pay the cost of the USSD channel and were okay with cutting off subscribers in order to protect their profits.

Some of the bank customers who spoke on the development called for the speedy intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the issue.

A customer of First City Monument Bank who have his name as Joseph told THE WHISTLER that he had not been able to transfer money from his account since last night.

He said, “I asked my electrician to come and make some connections in my house this morning and we agreed that I would transfer the money to him.

“Before I slept last night, I tried to transfer the money to his account through the FCMB USSD code of *329#. But each time I try, the service keeps failing. So I thought it was network failure. It was later this morning that I came to realise that MTN service has been suspended.”

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Another customer of First Bank of Nigeria Plc who identified herself as Paganyuebi said she could not make use of the USSD code to make transactions.

She said the *894# USSD code of First Bank had not been working on her MTN line since morning, adding that she thought it was just a normal network issue.

She said, “This morning, I was using my phone to chat with a friend in Germany and discovered that I was low on data. So I decided to subscribe using the USSD code. But all the time I tried doing so with my MTN line, there was no connectivity.

“I was even thinking it’s the bank that has issue until my attention was brought to the fact that the banks have suspended MTN Subscribers from using the USSD.

“I think the banks have chosen a wrong time to do this because there is public holidays, the banks are not opening to attend to customers and as such, people will rely on USSD to carry out banking transactions.

“They should have a rethink on this and save the banking public of this trouble at this time.”

When contacted on steps being taken by the CBN to address the issue, the CBN spokesman and Ag. Director, Corporate Communications Department, Osita Nwanisobi said that he just got the information about the disconnection adding that the issue would be looked into.

ENDS

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