NCC, CBN Direct Banks To Settle N250bn USSD Debt
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have jointly directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country to utilize alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve the protracted N250 billion dispute over Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services within the next six months.
The two regulatory organisations said that the directive was part of measures aimed at resolving the long-standing issue between the DMBs and MNOs.
This was as stakeholders however, said that the two regulatory organisations ought to have issued a firm ultimatum with sanctions, emphasising that for banks to withhold USSD deductions amounts to obtaining by false pretences, which can’t happen in civilized societies.
The directives by the NCC and the CBN to the commercial banks and Telcos was contained in a recent joint circular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular which was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, the Acting Director of Payments System Management Department at CBN, and Chizua Whyte, Head of Legal and Regulatory Services at NCC followed growing tension between the financial services and telecommunications sectors over unpaid, outstanding USSD debts.
It stated; “In order to address the dispute, the CBN and NCC, therefore, mandated that commercial banks must pay 60 per cent of all outstanding pre-API invoices as a full and final settlement, payment plans—either a lump sum or instalment—must be agreed upon by January 2, 2025, and instalment payments must be completed by July 2, 2025”.
The circular further directed that DMBs must pay 85 per cent of outstanding post-API invoices by December 31, while all future post-API invoices must be settled within a month of issuance.
According to the circular; “In respect of any pending litigation between the disputing parties on the USSD debt issue, the CBN and NCC directed both DMBs and MNOs to immediately halt all legal actions related to the USSD debt issue”.
The circular warned that failure to comply with the directives, will attract undisclosed sanctions from the CBN and NCC, stressing that the transition to EUB would be activated only for compliant DMBs and MNOs.
The circular also said that pending the completion of the transition, the MNOs have been instructed to adopt a “10-second rule” for USSD billing, which exempts sessions lasting less than 10 seconds from charges.
It insisted that DMBs using prepaid billing systems have the option to migrate to EUB, provided they complete the necessary regulatory processes.
The CBN and NCC’s joint circular indicated plans for public enlightenment initiatives to educate telecoms subscribers about the transition to EUB, which is aimed at fostering transparency and improving the customer experience in the financial and telecoms spaces in the Nigerian economy.
The two regulatory bodies further said; “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations”.
