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MTN clarifies that airtime recharge is excluded from the new N6.98 charge

June 20, 2025

MTN clarifies that airtime recharge is excluded from the new N6.98 charge

The new billing model for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) banking transactions will attract zero charges as MTN clarifies that airtime recharge is excluded from the new N6.98 charge.

MTN’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Lynda Saint Nwafor made this known during a chat with media executives today. Joined by Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators (ALTON), Lynda provided clarifications on the new USSD end-user billing model.

The service has served as a viable banking alternative for millions of users owing to its ability to function without access to an internet connection.

She summarised that the major difference in the new model is that end-user billing will shift from bank accounts to airtime accounts. “The only difference is that, from charging your bank account, the cost of USSD services will now be deducted from your account”.

She also emphasised that airtime and data purchase services are free of charge. “I must emphasise that we have zero-rated access for persons to buy airtime to their bank account”, she added.

On his part, President of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, shared the historical context of USSD services in Nigeria and highlighted how the banks and MNOs arrived at the payment impasse.

According to him, USSD was charged at the rate of an SMS at inception. The goal was to deepen financial inclusion, particularly to provide access to people in underserved communities.

And, it achieved an early success rate with over 20 million users in about 12 months.

After initial arguments about the cost of the service, championed by both regulators, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the players issued a joint circular in 2020, after a careful study that determined that the USSD should be priced at N6.98 per session.

However, the banks stopped paying operators, despite charging subscribers for USSD services. “What is interesting is that while the banks claim that USS have no cost to us, they were charging the subscribers”, Adebayo said.

Eventually, this led to a debt of over 42.5 billion naira by 2024 and distrust between the banks and the telecom operators. “Unfortunately, this cycle of back and forth led to trust issues between the banks and us. The truth is that where two elephants fight, the grass will suffer. The people suffered”, he explained.

Order from CBN and NCC

Subsequently, the current leadership of the CBN and NCC mandated that banks clear their historical debt before migrating to end-user billing.

He also provided a detailed update on the current state of the USSD debt: the debt, which stood at about N180 billion as of January this year, has now been cleared up to 95%, and only three banks are yet to pay up.

He added that one of the major banks in the country (GT Bank) has been successfully migrated to the system with initial positive trial results, while others are in the process of being migrated. “We are happy and thankful that as of yesterday, a few of the banks have fulfilled all the obligations, and we have migrated the first major bank to end-user billing”, he concluded.

Recall that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) also sent an email to customers to inform them that charges for USSD services will no longer be deducted from customers’ accounts but directly from users’ mobile airtime balance following the NCC’s End-User Billing model.

“In line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, please be informed that effective June 3, 2025, charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account,” the statement noted.

In addition to the notification, UBA explained that customers will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, while the airtime will be deducted subject to confirmation and availability of the bank’s services.

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