Bank customers and phone subscribers have rejected the migration to the End-User Billing (EUB) model for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services which took effect from yesterday.

The policy came into effect yesterday.

Under the new billing model, USSD charges will be deducted directly from the customer?s airtime balance and not from their bank account. Also, each USSD session will attract a charge of N6.98 per 120 seconds.

President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogubunka, said bank customers will not continue to bear the brunt of excess charges by banks that do not align with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guide on bank charges.

Ogubunka said the fee represents an extra burden on customers who are already being choked by other charges that many of the banks cannot explain.

The BCAN President called on the CBN and Bankers? Committee to rise against the new move by banks to impoverish customers.

He said: ?We are worried that banks want to impose all the charges on customers. What stops the banks from including the fees as operational costs given the huge profits they keep declaring? Banks should devote more time, thinking of better ways to improve their services, not at the expense of customers.?

Ogubunka said despite calls by the banks and CBN for more people to key into the financial system, the new charges will alienate customers.

He called on the banks to always engage customers, before taking decisions that bother on their deposits and savings.

The BCAN boss urged clearer implementation guidelines that include the position of the CBN, telcos and other stakeholders in the value chain.

He said all stakeholders should be briefed on why the banks decided to move the fees from bank accounts to airtime.

Similarly, telecom subscribers slammed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for excluding subscribers from the process that culminated in the arrival of the decision.

Acting under the aegis of the Association of Telephone, Cable TV, and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS-Nigeria), they said they were not carried along in the process that led to the decisions.

ATCIS-Nigeria President, Sina Bilsanmi, in a telephone conversation with The Nation, faulted the implementation by the NCC.

?The implementation began today (yesterday). Neither the Telcos nor the NCC carried the subscribers along. The NCC just acted with impunity. I wonder how much public awareness was done by the regulator and the operator. It?s not proper to take any major decisions that will affect the end users of telecom services without carrying them along,? Bilesanmi said.

He why the USSD transaction charges are higher than that of the text short message services (SMS).

The previous corporate billing model?where banks were billed by telecom operators?led to prolonged disputes over N250 billion unpaid charges, service interruptions, and uncertainty for customers.

To address the challenges, the NCC?s 2025 Determination introduced the End-User Billing model, which allows mobile network operators to charge customers directly for USSD sessions.

In a message to its customers yesterday, one of the banks, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) said the N6.98 fee would no longer be deducted from their account balances.

?Dear customer, please be informed that effective June, 18, the N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance, no longer from your bank account,? the message read.

Telecom operators lauded the NCC and the CBN for the intervention which they said marked a significant milestone in the evolution of Nigeria?s digital financial ecosystem.

In a statement, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body of all the carriers in the country, Gbenga Adebayo, said decision was taken in collaboration with the CBN and other key stakeholders to ensure a sustainable, transparent, and customer-friendly framework for USSD service delivery.

He said USSD services play a vital role in expanding access to financial services, particularly for unbanked and under-banked populations.

Adebayo said: ?To achieve the implementation of the EUB model, the CBN and NCC have stipulated that only banks that meet certain regulatory and operational conditions are permitted to migrate. One of which is the notification to customers of the billing change in advance, and to ensure that customers are fully aware of the new airtime-based charges and how they will be applied.

?To enjoy the service, customers will receive a prompt to opt in and approve the charge before any deduction is made, and there will be no double billing as billing will only occur for successful sessions via airtime deductions. ALTON wishes to reiterate that this change does not affect the availability or functionality of USSD banking services, as customers can continue to use their bank?s USSD codes as usual, provided they have sufficient airtime.?

FCCPC to probe banks, telcos over N6.98 airtime charges

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) said yesterday that it would probe the USSD charges.

Like Bilesanmi, FCCPC, sought for more sensitisation for the people before any enforcement.

The FCCPC noted the banks and the telecom companies have been having a running battle on remittance issues.

The commission said it would investigate to confirm the position of the telecom on this. (The Nation)

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