N300bn Cleared as Nigerian Banks End 4-year USSD Debt Crisis With MTN, Airtel, Others
- Commercial banks and telecom operators in Nigeria have finally resolved their four-year dispute over unpaid USSD charges
- ALTON announced that the debt has been fully settled following regulatory intervention and coordinated engagement led by the NCC
- The industry has now transitioned to a new model, under which USSD transaction fees are deducted directly from customers’ mobile airtime
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Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering energy, MSMEs, technology, banking and the economy.
Commercial banks and telecommunications companies in Nigeria have finally ended their long-running dispute over unpaid Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charges, bringing closure to nearly N300 billion in outstanding obligations.
The resolution was disclosed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), during a visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Source: UGC
He described the settlement as a major breakthrough for the country’s telecom and digital finance sectors, noting that the full debt has now been cleared, TheCable reported.
Through coordinated engagement and regulatory leadership, he said, the issue has been resolved and the industry has fully transitioned to an end-user billing structure.
Adebayo stated:
“Today, there is no outstanding USSD debt. The ecosystem has fully migrated to end-user billing. What was once a looming crisis has been converted into a sustainable framework.”
End-user billing framework takes effect
With the dispute settled, the sector has now completely migrated to an End-User Billing (EUB) model. Under this arrangement, USSD transaction charges are deducted directly from customers’ mobile airtime rather than being billed through banks.
According to Punch, industry stakeholders say this new structure replaces what was once a lingering crisis with a more sustainable and transparent payment system.
The migration to the EUB framework took place between June 3 and June 18, 2025, after banks made partial repayments amounting to N171 billion, paving the way for a final settlement of the balance.
How the USSD debt crisis escalated
The disagreement between banks and telecom operators dates back several years, with telecom firms repeatedly warning that they could withdraw USSD services due to mounting unpaid fees.
In 2019, operators proposed charging N4.50 per 20 seconds for USSD usage, arguing that they could no longer sustain the service at no cost. Banks opposed the proposal, claiming it would significantly increase transaction costs for customers.
Tensions escalated in March 2021 when telecom operators threatened to suspend USSD services over N42 billion in unpaid debts — a move later halted by Isa Pantami, then the minister of communications and digital economy.
Shortly after, banks and mobile network operators agreed to fix the customer charge at N6.98 per USSD transaction.
Despite this agreement, the debt continued to rise. By November 2022, it had reached about N80 billion, according to ALTON. The figure climbed to N200 billion by November 2023 and was estimated at between N250 billion and N300 billion at its peak in 2024.
While intervening in the dispute, the NCC threatened to blacklist and reclaim the shortcodes assigned to the owing banks if payments were not settled.
Regulatory interventions by the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) eventually led to the adoption of the end-user billing system, which has now brought the prolonged impasse to a close.
Source: Getty Images
Banks' USSD codes for electronic transfer transactions
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the use of an electronic payment system is set to reach a new height as the CBN begins the implementation of its cashless policy.
One major structure to achieve this is the use of USSD for transactions since it doesn't need the internet.
Legit.ng has provided a full list of all banks' USSD codes for quick electronic funds transactions.
Source: Legit.ng
