NCC, CBN give banks, MNOs July 5 to pay ₦250Bn USSD debt

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have issued a deadline of 5 July 2025 for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to pay the ₦250 billion Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt.

The two organisations also advised the DMBs and MNOs to utilise the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to resolve the protracted dispute over the USSD debt within the next six months.

This forms part of measures to resolve the long-standing issue between the two parties.

The fresh directives to the commercial banks and MNOs were issued 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.”

Oladimeji Taiwo, CBN Acting Director of the Payments System Management Department, and Chizua Whyte, Head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC, signed the circular for the banks and MNOs.

The regulators’ directive comes amid growing tension between the financial services and telecom sectors over outstanding USSD debts.

“To address the dispute, the CBN and NCC therefore mandated that commercial banks must pay 60 per cent of all outstanding pre-API invoices as a full and final settlement; payment plans—either a lump sum or instalments—must be agreed upon by 2 January 2025, and instalment payments must be completed by 2 July 2025,” the circular read in part.

NCC and CBN also stated in the circular that DMBs must pay 85 percent of outstanding post-API invoices by 31 December and that all future post-API invoices must be settled within a month of issuance.

“In respect of any pending litigation between the disputing parties regarding 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,” it was added.

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

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

Stakeholders described the directive from the NCC and CBN as a welcome development but stated that the two regulatory bodies should have issued a firm ultimatum with sanctions.

They said the withholding of USSD deductions by banks amounted to obtaining false pretenses, noting that such actions cannot happen in civilised societies.

Meanwhile, pending the completion of the transition, the MNOs 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 complete the necessary regulatory processes.

The joint circular by the NCC and CBN also indicated plans to embark on public enlightenment initiatives to educate telecom subscribers about the transition to EUB.

The transition is aimed at fostering transparency and improving the customer experience in the financial and telecom sectors in the Nigerian economy.

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