GTBank Increases SMS Alert Charges by 50 Per Cent, Sends Message to Customers
- Guaranty Trust Bank has announced a 50% increase in SMS alerts from N4 to N6 per message
- The company disclosed that the change was due to the recent tariff hikes by telecommunication operators
- GTBank said customers can opt out of the SMS alert service by submitting a request on its website and via its official email address
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Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
One of Nigeria’s tier-1 banks, Guaranty Trust Bank, has disclosed that it will increase its SMS transaction alert charges by 50% from N4 to N6 per alert starting May 1, 2025.
The bank said the move was caused by the recent 50% hike in telecommunication services.
Source: Getty Images
GTBank discloses reason for increase
GTBank stated that the new fee was due to changes in telecom charges sent by network operators.
It also acknowledged the role of SMS transaction alerts in helping depositors stay up to date and monitor their account activities.
It disclosed that customers who wish to opt out of the SMS alerts can submit a transaction alert on its website and support email.
Recently, telecom operators announced a 50% tariff hike for calls, data and SMS, sparking a flurry of changes in the telecom sector.
Telecom operators hike tariffs
Leading telecom operators in Nigeria announced that the increase came after over a decade of agitation, stating that their operations were grinding to a halt due to high operational costs and inflation.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved the tariff hike on March 1, 2025, saying the move was to save the industry from collapse.
Customers to be charged for airtime for USSD
Legit.ng previously reported that telecommunication subscribers will soon be charged for using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) through deductions from their airtime.
Reports say talks have advanced between commercial banks and the telcos to introduce an end-user billing system.
The move is a departure from the former corporate billing system, where bank customers were charged for USSD from their deposits.
The chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed that the discussions are ongoing and that the modalities are being put in place to incorporate subscribers, telcos and banks in one suit.
The Guardian reports that the ALTON boss said the end-user billing system, which the banks have been promoting, might help against accumulated USSD debts, curtailing the impasse between the banks and the telecom operators.
Banks to end USSD charges on deposits
Adebayo said that the parties have commenced discussion to migrate to an end-user billing system without disruptions to services for subscribers.
According to him, the conversation has begun, and there will be a migration process that the parties will agree to, marking the end solution to the issue of USSD debts, which he said the banks have been advocating for.
A September 16, 2019, memo to ALTON from the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers (BOBCEO) proposed an orderly implementation of end-user billing for bank customers, aligning it with standard practices for USSD billing.
According to reports, the bank bosses disapproved of sharing revenue from USSD transactions with the telcos, claiming that service providers, which supply the platform for USSD services, proposed to take a cut of N4.50k per 20 seconds from the charges paid by customers to the banks.
Source: UGC
The banks opposed this, alleging that it would raise costs by 450% as of then.
However, the telcos rejected the proposal, citing various dynamics, including the technology involved.
MTN Nigeria Recovers N32 Billion in USSD Debt
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that 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.
The debt recovery comes amid interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in December last year.
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Source: Legit.ng
