Commercial banks and telecommunications operators have officially resolved their long-running dispute over unpaid Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) fees, with nearly N300 billion in accumulated debt now fully settled.
The breakthrough was announced on Thursday by Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), during a visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Adebayo disclosed that the debt, which built up over four years, had posed a serious systemic risk to both the telecommunications sector and Nigeria’s digital financial ecosystem.
He commended Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, for his leadership in resolving the impasse.
“When Dr Maida assumed office, he inherited significant industry challenges. One of the most difficult was the USSD debt crisis — a burden that grew over four years to nearly N300 billion,” Adebayo said.
“Through firm leadership, structured engagement, and decisive coordination, Dr Maida and his team resolved this issue. 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.”
The dispute dates back to 2019 when telecom operators insisted they could no longer provide USSD services without direct compensation, proposing a charge of N4.50 per 20 seconds. Banks opposed the move, arguing it would significantly increase costs for customers.
Tensions escalated in March 2021 when telcos threatened to suspend USSD services over a N42 billion debt owed by banks. The planned suspension was halted following intervention by Isa Pantami, then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Subsequently, banks and mobile network operators agreed to a revised USSD charge of N6.98 per transaction.
However, the debt continued to rise — reaching N80 billion by November 2022, N200 billion by late 2023, and peaking between N250 billion and N300 billion in 2024.
Regulatory intervention by the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) eventually led to the adoption of an End-User Billing (EUB) framework.
Under the new arrangement, USSD transaction charges are deducted directly from customers’ mobile airtime rather than from their bank accounts.
Migration to the new billing structure was completed between June 3 and June 18, 2025, following partial repayments of N171 billion by banks — paving the way for the final clearance of the outstanding debt and restoring stability to the sector.