The Central Financial institution of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Fee have issued a remaining directive to Deposit Cash Banks and Cellular Community Operators to resolve the protracted N250bn Unstructured Supplementary Service Knowledge debt dispute.
CBN and NCC are each regulatory businesses of the Federal Authorities.
The directive, contained in a joint round dated December 20, 2024, was signed by the appearing Director of Funds System Administration on the CBN, Oladimeji Taiwo, and the Head of Authorized and Regulatory Providers on the NCC, Chizua Whyte.
The doc, solely obtained by our correspondent, outlined a structured fee plan for clearing the debt and launched new operational pointers for USSD providers.
Beneath the phrases of the directive, 60 per cent of all money owed incurred earlier than the implementation of Utility Programming Interfaces in February 2022 have to be paid as full and remaining settlement.
Fee agreements—whether or not as lump sums or instalments—have to be finalised by January 2, 2025, with full settlement due by July 2, 2025.
For money owed arising after February 2022, the CBN and NCC mandated that banks pay 85 per cent of all excellent invoices by December 31, 2024, and be certain that 85 per cent of future invoices are settled inside one month of issuance.
The regulators additionally directed each events to discontinue all ongoing litigation associated to the USSD debt difficulty, warning that non-compliance would entice stiff sanctions.
“In view of the foregoing, the CBN and NCC hereby direct that every one DMBs and MNOs adhere strictly to the outlined fee phrases to make sure remaining decision of this matter. Failure to conform will end in sanctions,” the round acknowledged.
The transfer comes amid mounting strain from telecom operators, who had earlier referred to as for a transparent fee framework to deal with the debt, which has strained relationships between the banking and telecom sectors.
Moreover, the regulators emphasised the transition to end-user billing for USSD providers, noting that it will solely apply to banks and telcos that meet the outlined fee obligations.
Pending this transition, operators are required to implement a “10-seconds rule,” making certain classes shorter than 10 seconds should not billed.
The round additional highlighted the chance for banks at the moment utilizing pay as you go billing techniques emigrate to EUB, topic to regulatory approval.
The CBN and NCC reiterated their dedication to resolving the debt deadlock, stating that the measures are geared toward fostering stability in each the monetary and telecommunications sectors whereas making certain the continued availability of USSD providers for Nigerians.
In Nigeria, USSD is important for monetary inclusion, notably in rural areas the place smartphone penetration and web entry are restricted.
Banks closely depend on it, particularly for cell banking providers, and it’s also used for providers like airtime top-ups, invoice funds, and different telecom providers.
The debt disaster has endured for years, with telecom operators threatening to droop USSD providers until funds are made.
Whereas smaller banks have reportedly begun repaying their obligations in installments, tier-one lenders—liable for the majority of the debt—are but to make vital funds, in accordance with the Chairman of the Affiliation of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo.
“Some repayments have been recorded, however they fall wanting expectations,” Adebayo advised The PUNCH in November.
