Union Bank and First City Monument Bank (FCMB) have notified customers that, effective July 1 and 2 respectively, charges for USSD banking services will now be deducted directly from their mobile airtime instead of their bank accounts.
Union Bank, in an email to customers, explained that the change aligns with a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). FCMB also confirmed the update via text messages to customers in June.
With this move, both banks have joined other financial institutions adopting the NCC’s end-user billing model for USSD services.
The new approach enables telecom operators to directly deduct the N6.98 per 120-second session fee from users’ airtime, removing banks from the billing chain.
Telecom providers have long raised concerns about non-remittance of USSD service fees by banks, despite providing services worth over N200 billion by the end of 2024.
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Union Bank’s message read: “Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of N6.98 per 120 seconds, billed by your mobile network operator. A consent prompt will appear at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted once you confirm and the bank can provide the service. If you prefer not to use USSD under this model, you may switch to our mobile app or internet banking.”
Similarly, FCMB’s notice stated: “Dear Customer, effective July 2, the N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance and no longer from your bank account. Consent will be requested.”
