After several efforts to amicably resolve the face-off between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) on the latter’s N200 billion USSD debt owed the telcos did not achieve the desired results, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday approved the disconnection of the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes assigned to nine banks due to unpaid debts.
The commission, in the directive contained in a Public Notice issued on Tuesday and signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, ordered that the affected banks must settle their outstanding obligations by January 27, 2025, or risk losing access to their USSD codes.
According to the commission, as of close of business on Tuesday, nine out of the 18 financial institutions had not complied with the regulatory directive, leaving nine others in non-compliance trap.
The telecom industry regulatory commission clarified that some of the unpaid debt had been lingering since 2020, despite several interventions by it, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other agencies to resolve the dispute on the N200 billion USSD debt.
The Public Notice partly reads: “By the information made available to the commission as at close of business on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, of a total of 18 financial institutions, the nine institutions listed below have failed to comply significantly with the directives in the Second Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the commission dated December 20, 2024, for the settlement of outstanding invoices due to MNOS, some since 2020.”
The regulatory commission stated that the banks’ failure to comply with the CBN-NCC joint circular also meant that they were unable to meet the good standing requirements for the renewal of the USSD codes assigned to them by the commission.
It further clarified: “In fulfilment of its consumer protection mandate, the commission wishes to inform consumers that they may be unable to access the USSD platform of the affected financial institutions from January 27, 2025.”
The affected DMBs comprised Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc while the USSD codes include 770, 919, 822, 329, 773, 833, 779, 945 and 966.
The NCC confirmed that the nine DMBs had been notified of the need for immediate compliance and warned that consumers may face service disruptions if the issues remained unresolved by the January 27 timeline set for them to offset their debts.
