Customers of Zenith, UBA, Others Protest Excessive Charges as Banks Change USSD Billing Method

• The Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) has raised concerns with the Central Bank of Nigeria over unauthorized charges being deducted from customers' accounts
• BCAN President Uju Ogubunka emphasized that artificial intelligence (AI) could help address customer satisfaction issues in Nigerian banking, as many customers are dissatisfied with their experiences
• Keynote speaker Johnson Chukwu highlighted AI's potential in improving financial services, including automating consumer credit and enhancing personalized customer experiences

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has received a letter from the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria regarding the charges being deducted from clients' accounts.

BCAN President, Uju Ogubunka, made this announcement on Thursday during the SuperNews-hosted 2025 Artificial Intelligence conference, themed "Power of AI: Enhancing Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction for Better Financial Services Experience."

This occurred amid a rise and shift to the end-user charging model for unstructured supplemental service data, with charges being subtracted from bank account balances. BCAN had criticized this move, stating that it was outside the purview of bank charges that the CBN had authorized.

Speaking at the event, he said,

“On the basis of excess charges, we have written to the Central Bank of Nigeria to find a permanent solution to it, and if they don’t, perhaps bank customers may have to come out to demand it. Let’s pray that they do that.”

Ogubunka also bemoaned the less-than-ideal experience of the country's bank customers, emphasizing that artificial intelligence (AI) is well-positioned to address some of the issues.

He explained,

“The truth is that when you talk of customer satisfaction in today’s Nigerian banking system, it doesn’t exist. That’s the truth. I’ve given you examples where you can go and find live petitions, and more ongoing at Bankers’ House, CBN, NDIC, mediation centres, and the law courts, and you will find all these things there. If people were really satisfied, they wouldn’t be complaining; they wouldn’t be petitioning. So, we cannot really say that AI has come to dwell with us.

“If AI has come to dwell with us, most of the issues being complained about would be taken care of by AI. That’s the truth.”

The keynote speaker at the event, Johnson Chukwu, highlighted some of the ways that AI can benefit the financial sector.

On consumer credit, Chukwu said,

“Today, consumer credit is everywhere in this country because machines are able to determine your income level and what you spend on. If you know the information available to the telco companies, they know who you make payments to and where you went to smoke.

Once you make a payment, they track it, so they know your consumption pattern; they know how much comes to your account, so they can actually say, I can give Johnson a N50,000 loan. The loan is automated; you apply and get it in minutes.”

On boosting customer experience, Chukwu said the use of AI has led to “enhanced personalization. One million customers, and each of them treated as an individual. You’re not a part of the crowd.

The system knows you as an individual, knows your face, knows your eyes, knows your fingerprint, and knows where you’re coming from. In that case, it also narrows your demand to what fits your purpose.”

He added that it would also lead to faster complaint resolution,

“Because the machine has so much data, when you make your complaint, it will be able to know what is best to do to address your complaint.”

He concluded by saying,

“There are seven C’s to implementing AI: Capacity – you must have the capacity, you must have the capability, you must collaborate, you must have creativity, and you must have cognition, continuity, and control.

“On that note, I feel artificial intelligence will define the future of human engagement, interaction, and experience. Companies that fail to adopt AI will not only be uncompetitive but will also become obsolete in the near future.”

GTB, other banks change USSD service billing method

Legit.ng reported that Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has alerted its customers that the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) fee of N6.98 will no longer be deducted from their bank accounts.

The lender noted that the charge will now be deducted from customers’ airtime balances, ending the long-standing practice of debiting bank accounts for the service.

In text messages sent early Wednesday, June 18, the lender informed customers that the new billing model takes effect immediately.

Source: Legit.ng