Telecoms companies on Friday disclosed that they will start disconnecting debtor banks from using the USSD through which customers transfer cash and pay utility bills.
Acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), the operators put the total debt at over N42billion.
Its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, recalled the letter issued by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), seeking a resolution to the on-going dispute between the banks Financial Service Providers (FSPs) and the telecoms sector over the appropriate methodology to use to charge for USSD services.
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He said:
We deeply regret that we have reached a point where the withdrawal of these services has become unavoidable, however, we remain committed to working closely with the relevant Ministries and regulators to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. To minimise the disruption to customers, and with the concurrence of the Minster of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the huge debt to the network operators; Mobile Network Operators will disconnect debtor FSPs from USSD services, until the huge debt is paid.
Therefore, our members are initiating a phased process of withdrawal of USSD services, starting with the most significant debtors within the Financial Service Providers (FSPs) effective Monday March 15, 2021.
While the withdrawal of USSD service is in place, we encourage our subscribers to kindly explore alternative channels with their banks.
