Mobile network operator, MTN Nigeria, has announced that bank recharge channels through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services are currently unavailable to customers.
According to ThePunch, the telecommunication giants stated this in a text message sent to customers on Friday.
A copy of the message reads;
Dear Customer, our bank recharge channels are currently unavailable. Kindly recharge using physical cards. We apologise for the inconvenience. Thank you.
It was gathered that the development was not unconnected to the N42bn debt that banks owed mobile operators.
It would be recalled that telcos including MTN under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) threatened to disconnect banks from USSD services over debt.
Read Also: CBN Introduces New Charges For USSD Transactions
The disconnection which was supposed to take effect from March 15, 2021 was stopped by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami.
In resolving the issue, the minister convened a meeting of Central Bank Of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission. Subsequently, both parties introduced a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction every time customers use USSD services.
CBN and NCC also said a settlement plan for outstanding payments incurred for USSD services, previously rendered by mobile network operators was being worked out by all parties in a bid to ensure that the matter is fully resolved.
However, a top source in the sector, who craved anonymity, told ThePUNCH that banks were unwilling to pay the N42bn debt but rather want to start deducting the debt afresh from customers using the USSD services.
The source said;
We had a meeting but the banks don’t want to pay the N42bn they owe us. Rather, they want to surreptitiously factor it into a new price regime so that customers will unknowingly help them pay what they had already billed them. Of course we refused, which is why they are fighting us now.
The informant said as a protest for not being part of the plan to exploit Nigerians, the banks decided to block the airtime sales channels of telcos including MTN.
The source stressed;
The overnight suspension of airtime sales by some banks is not restricted to USSD channels but includes airtime purchases through all banking channels: bank apps, bank USSD codes, even debit cards.
The informant added that the banks were poised to bullying all operators to maximise their profit, adding that “the government needs to step in and deal with this once and for all. Nigerian banks need to stop their tyrannical posture”.
As a result of the disconnection from USSD services by MTN, many Nigerians have lamented their inability to recharge airtime on their devices. This may continue until issues involving the N42bn debt is resolved.
