CBN, NCC mandate banks, Telcos to settle N250bn USSD debt issue for economic stability

*The Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian Communications Commission restate thier commitment to resolving the N250 billion USSD debt dispute between banks and telecoms firms to ensure stability in the financial and telecoms sectors of the country’s economy

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As part of outlined measures to resolve the long-standing issue between the two parties, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to settle the protracted N250 billion debt dispute over Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services within the next six months.

ConsumerConnect reports the CBN and NCC issued fresh directives to the commercial banks and Telcos 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”, dated December 20, 2024.

Oladimeji Taiwo, Acting Director of the Payments System Management Department at CBN, and Chizua Whyte, Head of Legal and Regulatory Services at NCC, signed the joint circular to the Bank’s and the Telcos.

The regulators’ directives come amid growing tension between the financial services and telecommunications sectors over unpaid, outstanding USSD debts.

Regulators outline measures to resolve long-standing issue

The two regulatory bodies, in the directive, specifically outlined measures to resolve the long-standing issue between the two parties.

In order to address the dispute, the CBN and NCC, therefore, mandated that commercial banks must pay 60 percent of all outstanding pre-API invoices as a full and final settlement, payment plans—either lump sum or installment—must be agreed upon by January 2, 2025, and installment payments must be completed by July 2, 2025.

The circular as well noted that DMBs must pay 85 percent of outstanding post-API invoices by December 31, and all future post-API invoices must be settled within a month of issuance.

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.

Failure to comply with these directives, the circular warned, will attract sanctions from the CBN and NCC.

The circular also disclosed the transition to EUB would be activated only for compliant DMBs and MNOs in this regard.

Meanwhile, pending finalisation of the transition, the Mobile Network Operators have been instructed to adopt a “10-second rule” for USSD billing, which exempts sessions lasting less than 10 seconds from charges.

Additionally, DMBs using prepaid billing systems have the option to migrate to EUB, provided they completed the necessary regulatory processes.

Consequences of non-compliance with regulatory directives

The CBN and NCC’s joint circular also 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.

They stated: “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”

Both CBN and NCC have underlined their commitment to resolving the dispute and ensuring stability in the financial and telecommunications sectors.

According to the regulators, non-compliance with the directives will not be tolerated.

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