When Chinyere, a petty dealer in Lagos, tried to switch N5,000 to her provider utilizing her bank’s USSD code, she thought it could take solely seconds. As a substitute, the transaction failed halfway.
Annoyed, she tried once more. The second try additionally collapsed with out delivering the funds. However when she checked her stability, she found N13.96 had been deducted N6.98 for every failed session.
Transaction was unsuccessful and he or she was charged twice with out getting any worth.
Chinyere’s story was not an remoted case. This has been the expertise of many bank prospects utilizing the USSD channel to carry out primary transactions throughout Nigeria.
The scenario turns into extra worrisome as a result of neither the banks nor the telecom operators are able to take the blame, leaving the purchasers to bear their losses in silence.
Menace to monetary inclusion
In line with the Nationwide Vice President of Affiliation of Cell Cash and Bank Brokers in Nigeria (AMMBAN) Mr. Yusuf Adeyemo, the rising circumstances of failed USSD transactions and lack of cash by bank prospects is now threatening monetary inclusion in Nigeria.
He famous that many Nigerians nonetheless depend upon USSD for transactions, however the expertise of shedding cash is now discouraging them from utilizing the channel.
“We’re not even speaking about brokers as a result of they won’t be affected a lot as a result of they use POS. However we’re frightened for lots of our prospects who’ve had to make use of USSD code unsuccessfully, however they have been debited,” he mentioned.
- Adeyemi mentioned whereas some individuals may even see the N6.98 as insignificant, a number of deductions of the identical quantity for unsuccessful transactions has develop into the hidden prices a number of bank prospects are paying.
- This, he mentioned, is making monetary inclusion in Nigeria to develop into costlier and should discourage many from placing cash of their bank accounts.
- He famous that many purchasers have misplaced cash to transactions as little as checking their BVN or retrieving NIN as they get debited with out getting the service.
“Affordability is the premise of monetary inclusion, when it’s not reasonably priced to hold out monetary transactions, then individuals get discouraged.
“There’s a necessity for the banks and the telecom operators to take a look at it critically. If a transaction just isn’t profitable who’s monitoring it again to pay the patron again? It’s a dialog that all of us want to take a seat all the way down to look into and discover options,” he mentioned.
Who’s accountable, banks or telcos?
With the current shift to finish person billing, telecom operators now deduct expenses for USSD instantly from the bank prospects utilizing their airtime.
This, in a approach, has handed the buck to the desk of the telecom operators. Nevertheless, the Chairman of the Affiliation of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, mentioned the telcos can’t be blamed as they ship their a part of the service at each level of a USSD transaction.
In line with him, the telecom operators are just like the autos taking the bank prospects to their bank, whether or not they get cash from the bank or not just isn’t the fault of the telcos.
“Operators ship you to the infrastructure of the bank, we’ve got no management over what occurs there.
“You realize, typically, similar to the ATM the place you don’t have cash, typically whenever you work together with the bank, the server is resetting, it’s taking alerts from someplace, and you’ll’t blame the operator for that incomplete service,” he mentioned.
Suggesting that the banks ought to blamed, Adebayo used an analogy to clarify his level:
“I’ll provide you with an instance. I went to the bank to gather my debit card. My driver took me to the bank. After I collected the debit card, they mentioned I can go downstairs to the ATM machine to go and use it.
“I went in. There have been seven machines there. The primary one, no cash. The second, no cash. So, I went again upstairs and I mentioned to them, this factor just isn’t working.
“So, they checked it and mentioned the cardboard is working, the ATM has no cash. I can’t blame my driver for it. He took me to the bank.”
- In the meantime, a bank official who spoke with Nairametrics on situation of anonymity, mentioned the banks may have taken the blame after they have been nonetheless doing company billing, that’s, banks deducting expenses from prospects’ account.
- Whereas he acknowledged that there could also be points occasionally resulting in failed transactions, he mentioned the banks have additionally invested and are nonetheless investing closely in tech infrastructure to make sure that their prospects take pleasure in seamless companies.
“How are you going to blame the banks for the cash they aren’t accumulating? You realize USSD is now on end-user billing, the telcos are those deducting cash instantly from the purchasers, not the banks,” he mentioned.
- Mr. Elvis Eromosele, the Editor of TheNumbersNG, a enterprise publication, who has additionally skilled debits for failed USSD transactions, corroborated the bank official’s place, noting that the telecom operators should settle for the blame as a result of the cash is deducted by them.
- He additionally faulted all the strategy of the USSD association that leaves no room for resolutions of points arising from failed transactions and debits.
Methods ahead
In line with Eromosele, to regain person belief and guarantee equity, the USSD cost should solely apply after the transaction is efficiently accomplished.
- He added that telcos should auto-refund airtime the place a session fails or terminates prematurely similar to bank reversal notifications
- He additionally needs the NCC to compel telcos to create user-friendly, time-bound dispute decision platforms the place prospects can simply report and resolve airtime deductions for failed transactions.
- Eromosele famous that many Nigerians are nonetheless at the hours of darkness about this billing change, therefore there should be a complete public consciousness initiative to teach customers on how the system works and how one can search redress.
“The operators and the banks want to return to the Nigerian Communications Fee and the Central Bank of Nigeria to deliberate on how they may resolve this. The blame will at all times go to the telcos as a result of they’re those accumulating the cash,” Eromosele mentioned.
When contacted, a supply on the NCC, who wouldn’t need to be named as a result of he was not licensed to talk on the matter. nonetheless, mentioned the Fee has additionally acquired reviews on the event and would quickly come out with modalities to deal with the difficulty.
What you must know
Efficient from June 18, 2025, telecom operators began deducting expenses for USSD transactions from prospects’ airtime, marking shift to end-user billing from the earlier mannequin the place banks deduct the costs from prospects’ bank accounts.
- In line with ALTON, the migration to end-user billing follows the Willpower of USSD Pricing and Companies issued by the NCC, which was developed in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and different key stakeholders.
- This new mannequin was adopted to place an finish to the years lengthy deadlock between banks and telcos over USSD debt as the previous usually fail to remit to the latter after deducting from prospects’ accounts.
Be First to Comment