The Nigerian Communications Fee will this era publicly drop the names of 18 banks that experience didn’t govern their exceptional money owed for the use of Cell Community Operators’ Unstructured Backup Carrier Information platforms.
Those banks jointly owe a complete of N200bn, and the telecom regulator is getting ready to do so, together with postponing USSD products and services for the defaulters.
Impeccable business resources advised The PUNCH on Monday that handiest 4 banks have met the fee necessities defined in a joint directive issued by way of the Central Vault of Nigeria and the NCC in December 2023.
The directive stipulated that 60 in line with cent of pre-API (Software Programming Interfaces) invoices will have to be settled by way of January 2, 2025, with fee plans to be correct upon by way of the banks and MNOs. Then again, the alternative banks haven’t begun to meet their fee tasks.
Pre-API invoices are the phenomenal bills for USSD products and services that had been incurred sooner than the implementation of Software Programming Interfaces in February 2022.
Prior to the adoption of APIs, USSD transactions had been incessantly controlled the use of used or much less standardised modes, which every now and then resulted in disputes over billing and reconciliation between banks and telcos.
The carrier postponed, which is predicted to shoot impact in two weeks, may considerably have an effect on Nigerians who depend on USSD products and services for banking transactions, specifically the ones with out web get admission to.
Within the people observation that the NCC will drop, subscribers to those products and services might be given directives on the best way to transfer to alternative banks, making sure they are able to proceed having access to banking products and services with out disruption.
The NCC’s travel to show the defaulters is a part of an ongoing try to unravel the long-standing debt dispute between banks and telecom firms, which has been some degree of competition for a number of years.
Telecom operators have expressed issues concerning the have an effect on of the unpaid debt at the sustainability of USSD products and services and likewise threatened to extract the carrier.
Resources mentioned that pace banks had been resistant to prioritise bills, MNOs have avoided sporting out their ultimatum of postponing the carrier because of the carrier’s essential position within the economic system.
Digital fee statistics information from the CBN have proven that, between January and June 2024, 252.06 million transactions, which amounted to N2.19tn, had been performed by the use of USSD.
It is a important building up in comparison to the full-year information for 2023, which confirmed that N4.84tn used to be transacted by the use of USSD codes throughout 630.6 million transactions.
To start with evolved by way of telcos for offering airtime and subscription products and services, the USSD carrier has been extensively followed within the banking sector as it does now not require an Web connection.
In November, the Chairman of the Affiliation of Authorized Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, advised The PUNCH that operators had been ocular some journey within the reimbursement of the debt, with smaller banks starting to govern their tasks.
Then again, tier-one lenders, that are accountable for the majority of the debt, haven’t begun to form important bills.
“We are seeing payments from smaller players, but the big banks, which owe the most, have not been forthcoming,” Adebayo mentioned in a choice.
“We are now waiting for intervention from regulators, including the CBN and NCC, to resolve the issue,” he added.
In October, the Director at Adaba Seek the advice of, Ejike Onyeaso, advised The PUNCH that telecom firms are disillusioned with banks over insufficient bills for hired traces worn for products and services like USSD.
He wired that since banks generate earnings thru those products and services, they must compensate telecom companies. Onyeaso additionally warned that if telecom suppliers office on their ultimatum to droop products and services, it will disrupt banking operations.