Implication of Financial Inclusion And CBN’s ₦6.98 USSD fee

In a new charge that may have implications for Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive; Telecommunication operators have insisted customers and everyone who uses USSD will now pay transaction fee.
Before now the controversy has been If banks charge for banking services, then telcos should also be able to charge the banks for USSD sessions.
In October 2019, MTN Nigeria announced that it would begin charging a ₦4 fee every time customers use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) to make bank transactions.

It was another chapter in a long drawn out squabble between banks and telcos over who should pay for USSD. Initially the plan was for banks to pay those charges which telcos say are around ₦12 for one session and then remit it in bulk to the telcos. The banks balked at that plan and asked telcos to charge customers directly.
Eventually, Nigeria’s Communication Commission stepped in with a price determination template. This is important for a few reasons; USSD is a service that costs money and someone has to pay for it. The NCC determined that a typical USSD session lasts 20 seconds and set a price cap of ₦4.98 for each session.
Yet, when MTN sent out its notification saying that it would charge customers for USSD transactions, the NCC claimed it had not been notified and suspended those charges. It set the scene for two years of disagreements before yesterday’s official decision to peg prices at ₦6.98 for USSD.

According to the statement from NCC and CBN, “this replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion. This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.”
In December 2019, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications of Nigeria (ALTON) threatened to shut down USSD platforms in Nigeria. The threat came after lingering uncertainty as to who should pay for USSD.

In the end, the issue has been resolved at the expense of the In the end, the issue has been resolved at the expense of the customer and everyone who uses USSD will now pay a ₦6.98 fee per transaction. The key difference in the new charge is that customers will not be billed per session, which is a cheaper outcome than what MTN introduced in 2019. a ₦6.98 fee per transaction. The key difference in the new charge is that customers will not be billed per session, which is a cheaper outcome than what MTN introduced in 2019.