Operators in the nation’s telecommunications sector have disclosed that banks’ indebtedness to them for provision of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) has risen to N80 billion.
The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed this on Thursday at the ICT Growth Conference organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA).
He decried that the banks were not cooperating in paying the debt despite interventions from the government.
He, said the operators would, therefore, have no choice but disconnect some of the banks from the networks if they fail to pay.
“I think it is dishonourable that our colleagues in that sector know that they have an obligation to service providers and are shying away from it.
“Banks’ remove charges from their customers but refuse to pay telecom operators. You don’t expect us to keep rendering services when you don’t pay. The irony is that if it was the other way round, you can’t owe the bank a cent,” he stated.
Recall that sometime in 2021, ALTON threatened to withdraw USSD services to financial institutions over accumulated debt of N42 billion.
However, following the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the planned action was shelved with both parties (the telcos and the banks), going into a meeting with the Federal Government representatives.
It was after the meeting that the CBN and NCC announced the introduction of N6.98 per transaction as new charges for customers using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services with effect from March 16, 2021.
