Nigerian banks and telecommunication firms are currently struggling to resolve a N100bn Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt.
This debt has been accumulating over the past few years due to a disagreement over non-remittance of USSD fees.
USSD services have been essential to financial inclusion in Nigeria, with a large number of Nigerians using it to access banking services through their mobile phones. However, despite its significance, banks and telcos have been at loggerheads since 2019 over the non-remittance of USSD fees.
The accumulated USSD debt was initially estimated at N32bn in 2019, and by November 2022, it had risen to N80bn. Unfortunately, it has now increased to over N100bn as banks and telcos are yet to come to a resolution.
According to Gbolahan Awonuga, the Head of Operations of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, banks and telcos are still locked in discussions with no way forward. He said, “the debt has continued to increase, and it is now over N100bn.”
A source in one of the telecoms companies also disclosed that banks owe one of the telcos about N100bn. This amount, the source said, does not cut it as it could be estimated at N150bn, including debts owed to other telcos.
However, the recovery process has been frustrating for telcos as banks refuse to acknowledge the debt, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supports them. The source said, “no progress has been made simply because the banks have dug in their heels and are refusing to accept that they owe us money, not to talk of repaying.”
This issue threatens financial inclusion as many underserved Nigerians rely on USSD services to access banking services. It is essential that banks and telcos resolve this issue quickly to ensure that businesses and individuals can continue to carry out transactions seamlessly.
