Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has taken action by authorizing telecommunications companies to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes associated with nine financial institutions due to a backlog of unpaid debts.
Gatekeepers News reports that the directive, signed by the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, was made public on Tuesday.
The affected banks are required to settle their outstanding debts by January 27, 2025, or they risk losing access to their USSD codes. However, the NCC did not disclose the specific amount of debt owed by these nine banks.
In a public notice, the NCC indicated that out of 18 financial institutions, nine have failed to comply with regulatory directives. While some banks have successfully cleared their debts, the total amount initially owed by the financial institutions was reported to exceed N200 billion, with some invoices remaining unpaid since 2020.
Part of the notice read, “By the information made available to the commission as at close of business on Tuesday, 14th January 2025, of a total of 18 financial institutions, the nine institutions listed below have failed to comply significantly with the directives in the Second Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the commission dated December 20, 2024, for the settlement of outstanding invoices due to MNOS, some since 2020.”
The affected financial institutions include Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.
The affected USSD codes include 770, 919, and 822, among others, could be reassigned to other applicants if the debts remain unresolved.
The regulator noted that banks’ failure to comply with the CBN-NCC joint circular also means that they are unable to meet the good standing requirements for the renewal of the USSD codes assigned to them by the commission.
It added, “In fulfilment of its consumer protection mandate, the commission wishes to inform consumers that they may be unable to access the USSD platform of the affected financial institutions from January 27, 2025.”
The NCC emphasised that the financial institutions had been duly notified of the need for immediate compliance and warned that consumers may face service disruptions if the issues remain unresolved.
Meanwhile, data from the CBN revealed that 252.06 million transactions worth N2.19 trillion were conducted via USSD between January and June 2024.
