Telecommunications operators and banks are in discussions to resolve a protracted crisis affecting the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform in Nigeria.

Despite ongoing regulatory intervention from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the debts owed by defaulting banks have risen to N120bn, according to the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

While some banks are paying off their debts, others continue to hold back remittance, forcing the service providers to threaten to withdraw the USSD service.

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The crisis has been ongoing for over five years, but was at a tipping point in March 2021, when USSD services began to be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction, collected by mobile network operators (MNOs) directly from customers, without banks imposing additional charges. Before this change, a typical USSD session, lasting 20 seconds, had a price cap of ₦4.98.

Despite the significant growth of ePayment transactions, which hit N49.48tn in March, the quality of services remains a challenge.

Customers complain of slow and unresponsive USSD platforms and bank apps, causing frustration and forcing many to visit banking halls regularly to make complaints.

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The BudgiT Foundation Nigeria has called for an overhaul of banks’ IT infrastructure for the effective implementation of the cashless policy, citing issues such as the availability of redesigned notes, slow internet infrastructure, and declining electronic transactions.