Due to their failure to pay Nigerian telecom operators almost N200 billion for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services, 18 banks are on the verge of being placed on a blacklist by the federal government.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The decision, which is anticipated to be made tomorrow, comes after years of outstanding debt that have strained ties between the telecom and banking industries. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) received a definitive direction from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2024 to settle the N250 billion USSD debt dispute.
60 percent of all obligations accrued prior to February 2022 must be paid by banks as a complete and final settlement, according to the directive’s structured payment schedule.
Complete settlement was anticipated by July 2, 2025, with the deadline for finalizing payment arrangements set for January 2, 2025. Banks are required to settle future invoices within a month of their issuance and pay 85% of all outstanding invoices by December 31, 2024, for debts incurred after February 2022.
In addition, the regulators ordered that any lawsuits pertaining to the USSD debt be halted and threatened harsh penalties for noncompliance. The persistent debt has angered telecom providers, who have demanded a transparent payment plan and threatened to cut off USSD services if payments are not received. Major lenders still haven’t made much headway, but smaller banks have started repaying.
In Nigeria, USSD services are essential for financial inclusion, especially in rural areas where internet connectivity is scarce. The goal of the government’s intervention was to maintain the availability of these vital services while stabilizing the financial and telecoms industries.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
