While there are ongoing conversations between the telecommunications operators and the banks at the regulatory level to find an amicable solution to the protracted crisis affecting the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform, the service providers said that the debts owed them by defaulting banks have hit N120 billion.
As of the first quarter of 2023, the debts were put at N100 billion. But the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said the banks continue to hold back remittance even as the outstanding has increased by N20 billion.
ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, at the weekend said that the debt figure has climbed up to N120 billion.
Adebayo, who confirmed discussion at the regulatory level, said: “Discussions are ongoing, we have regulatory intervention by both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at a very high level. Some of the banks are paying while others seem waiting until service is withdrawn in an attempt to test our resolve to get them to pay.
The agreement further said that the new USSD charges would be collected on behalf of mobile network operators (MNOs) directly from customers and that banks would not impose additional charges on customers for the use of the USSD channel.
