Telcos Hit Back At Banks: You Take Larger Chunk Of USSD Charges

Nigerian telecommunication companies have hit back at chief executive officers (CEOs) of commercial banks in the country over their claim that the decision to impose Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions charges on mobile phone subscribers was solely that of the telecoms companies. 

THE WHISTLER reported earlier that the committee of bank CEOs had specifically distanced itself from MTN Nigeria after the telecoms company claimed that it took the decision to impose N4 per 20 seconds for USSD access to banking services on request of the commercial banks.

But reacting after the bank CEOs distanced themselves from the move, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has claimed that the banks are the major beneficiaries of the USSD charges as they allegedly take a larger chunk of  it.

The telcos further claimed that the banks benefit immensely from the USSD charges as they use it to optimize their operations and generate huge revenue. 

The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, in a press statement, also disagreed with the bank CEOs that the USSD charges would lead to 450 per cent rise in tariff.

“The above underscores the fact that the biggest beneficiaries in the USSD value chain are the banks and that the allegation of destroying the financial inclusion strides by our members are unfounded.

“It will be impossible to connect Automated Teller Machines and Point of Sale terminals across the length and breadth of Nigeria without our members’ dedication and support. In addition, the cashless policy drive and the instant payment solution of the financial sector would not have been possible without our members’ support,” said Adebayo.

Providing further clarification, Adebayo said that the banks had stopped funding the cost for providing the USSD services in August and directed the telcos to work out ways to recover money due to them from subscribers.

“Why will the banks charge customers and not share the cost with the operators and you don’t expect the operators to charge customers? Banks continue to take the money without giving anything to the operators.

He likened the USSD charges on customers to requesting a “customer to pay a bank’s landlord access fees prior to gaining access to banking premises.” 

Meanwhile, the NCC in a public notice on Tuesday, ordered an immediate suspension of end-user billing for financial transactions through the USSD channel by all telecom operators.