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MTN Nigeria, a leading telecommunications company, has successfully recovered ₦32 billion from banks as part of its outstanding debts related to Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services.
Despite this recovery, an estimated ₦42 billion remains unpaid, with other telecom operators also awaiting settlements. Initially, the total debt owed to all telecom companies was estimated at ₦250 billion, but this figure was later revised downward to ₦212 billion, representing 81% of the original amount.
This dispute dates back to 2019 when banks continued deducting charges from customers for USSD services without remitting the corresponding fees to the telecom providers.
In 2021, telecom operators threatened to disconnect USSD services, but the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) intervened to prevent any service disruption.
By June 2024, some banks had reportedly begun making payments; however, the issue remained unresolved, prompting further regulatory action. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCC stepped in after major telecom providers, including MTN, Airtel, GLO, and 9mobile, once again threatened to cut off banks from USSD services.
The CBN set a payment deadline of January 2, 2025, while the NCC warned that any bank failing to remit the charges by January 27, 2025, would have its USSD codes deactivated and reassigned to other businesses.
Despite these firm deadlines, many banks failed to meet their payment obligations, with no immediate penalties announced for the missed payments.
Telecom operators in Nigeria have been making continuous efforts to recover the debt owed to them, but these attempts have largely been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, banks continue to charge their customers for using the USSD service without fully remitting the corresponding fees to the telecom companies.
Debt recovery remains critical for MTN Nigeria, which reported a ₦400.4 billion loss after tax for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024— a significant increase from its ₦137 billion loss in 2023. While the telecom giant attributed the loss primarily to naira devaluation and forex-related setbacks, the unresolved USSD debt also played a role in the shortfall.
Although the retrieval of ₦32 billion marks some progress in settling the debt, the outstanding ₦42 billion, along with the debts owed to other telecom operators, indicates that the issue is far from resolved.
With the NCC and CBN actively monitoring the situation, the coming months will be pivotal in determining whether the telecom sector can finally put this dispute to rest or if another standoff is on the horizon.
