MTN Nigeria recovers N32 billion from banks as part of N74 billion USSD debt

• MTN Nigeria has recovered N32 billion from banks as part of N74 billion Unstructured Supplementary Service Data debt
• Banks still owe the telecom company an outstanding N42 billion
• Telecom companies and banks have been at loggerheads over applicable charges and billing method for USSD transactions since 2020

MTN Nigeria has recovered N32 billion from banks as part of the N74 billion outstanding debt owed to the telecom operator for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service charges.

This was contained in MTN Nigeria’s financial statement for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, which noted that banks still owe the telecom company N42 billion.

“The directive from CBN and NCC requires 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices to be paid as full and final settlement by 2 July 2025 while for post-API invoices, the DMBs are required to pay 85 per cent of outstanding invoices issued after the February 2022 implementation of APIs by 31 December 2024.

“In addition, future invoices are to be settled within one month of issuance. 

“Based on this directive, on 31 December 2024, MTN received N32 billion payment from the banks out of the N74 billion in CBN and NCC circulars to banks,” the statement read.

Telcos and banks’ lingering USSD dispute 

Since 2020, telecom operators and banks have been at loggerheads over the implementation of end-user billing for USSD services at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction conducted by Deposit Money Banks and all Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed institutions.

The dispute centred on applicable charges and billing method for USSD transactions, a mobile banking platform enabling customers to perform financial transactions such as transfers, bill payments, and airtime purchases via SMS-based codes without requiring internet access.

With the non-resolution of the dispute, the USSD service debt accumulated to N250 billion as banks withheld payments to telecom operators.

To resolve the protracted issue, telecom operators sought regulatory approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to withdraw USSD services from banks due.

In their intervention, the CBN and the NCC directed banks and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to agree on a payment plan for the N250 billion USSD debt by January 2, 2025.

The regulators mandated that banks pay a percentage of outstanding invoices and agree to either lump sum or installment payment plans.

They also directed banks to stop legal actions related to the debt, resolving to enforce structured payments and prevent future disputes.

On January 14, 2025, the NCC ordered telecommunications companies to disconnect the USSD codes assigned to nine financial institutions over the unpaid debts by January 27.

The affected banks include Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Jaiz Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.

The NCC stated that nine out of an initial 18 banks had not complied significantly with regulatory directives to offset their debt.

NCC approves disconnection of Exchange Telecoms from MTN Nigeria over unpaid charges

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) sanctioned the disconnection of Exchange Telecoms from MTN Nigeria due to unpaid interconnect charges. 

According to the report, Exchange Telecoms failed to provide satisfactory explanations for its inability to pay the charges.