NCC Advises TELCOs to Cut Off Banks Not In Line on USSD

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), often known as “quick codes” or “feature codes,” is a means of communication used by GSM cellular telephones for interacting with mobile network operator computers.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered telecoms operators and companies to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes allocated to nine financial institutions due to outstanding payments. Telecommunication firms, acting on the direction of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), would cut off nine banks’ from the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) access due to their inability to settle a N160 billion debt amassed since 2019.

The NCC issued a notice on Wednesday listing the following banks and their USSD codes: Fidelity Bank Plc (770), First City Monument Bank (329), Jaiz Bank Plc (773), Polaris Bank Limited (833), Sterling Bank Limited (822), United Bank for Africa Plc (919), Unity Bank Plc (7799), Wema Bank Plc (945), and Zenith Bank Plc (966).

This was announced in a public notification issued by the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, on Wednesday.

According to the NCC, telecoms will disable these banks’ USSD access by Monday, January 27, 2025, if they do not pay their bill. “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 regulator stated. The impacted banks must pay off their outstanding obligations by January 27, 2025, or face losing access to their USSD codes.

Earlier, TELCOs announced that they will temporarily disable USSD connectivity for 18 banks because of their inability to settle a N200 billion debt. However, it announced on Wednesday that nine of these banks had paid, while the remaining nine had yet to pay. It reported that the entire debt had been lowered to N160 billion.

The NCC stated that the codes, which are required for mobile banking services, could be reallocated to other applicants if the arrears were not settled.

The commission reported on Tuesday that nine of the 18 financial firms had failed to comply with regulatory instructions.

“While other banks have cleared their debts, the total amount initially owned by the financial institutions were reported to exceed N200 billion,” according to the statement.

According to the NCC, some of the unpaid invoices have been outstanding since 2020, indicating a long-running financial dispute between banks and telecom companies.

The notice read: “In accordance with the information made available to the commission as of the close of business on January 14, 2025, nine of the 18 financial institutions failed to comply significantly with the directives in the Second Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the commission.”

“The circular is dated Dec. 20, 2024, and is for the settlement of outstanding invoices due to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), some since 2020,” according to the notice.

The NCC stated that the banks’ failure to comply with the CBN-NCC joint circular also meant that they would be unable to meet the commission’s good standing standards for renewing the USSD codes issued to them.

“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 Jan. 27, 2025,” the notice continued.

The NCC highlighted that financial institutions had been officially alerted of the need for rapid compliance and warned that if the concerns were not remedied, consumers would risk service disruptions.

According to NAN, this event shows continued conflicts between telecoms firms and financial institutions over unpaid USSD receivables, a long-standing issue.

Meanwhile, the CBN reported that 252.06 million transactions totalling N2.19 trillion were done via USSD between January and June 2024.

This reflects a considerable increase from 2023, when 630.6 million transactions worth N4.84 trillion were completed using USSD codes.