Pascal Oparada
Nigerians have expressed outrage over the new Unstructured Supplementary Service (USSD) charge which came into effect on July 4.
They kicked against the new charge asking the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Communications Commissions (NCC) to reverse the charges in order to allow them a breathing space in the face of choking inflation and rising cost of living.
The new charge of almost N7 has left many wondering if they will abandon the use of such a critical banking channel.
The new charge followed the announcement made in March by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs (Deposit Money Banks) and all CBN-licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction,” CBN and NCC spokesman Osita Nwanisobi and Ikechukwu Adinde had said in the statement.
The charges were part of the agreement reached when banks and telecommunication operators discussed the N42 billion debt with the apex bank and the NCC after network providers threatened to withdraw the service from banks as the accumulated debt remained unpaid.
In the statement, both the CBN and NCC assured that it would collect the new USSD charge on behalf of network providers directly from customers’ bank accounts and would not impose any extra charges on customers to use the USSD service. Both bodies noted the new payment arrangement would be cheaper for customers to enhance financial inclusion.
Nigerians have taken to social media to comment on the news USSD fee.
My country people, see mtn this early morning
I did ussd transfers yesterday, no network charges
This country be doing the most to frustrate me pic.twitter.com/RuSXUOCtZ6— Christiana A. Showunmi (@kristayomy) June 4, 2021
You adviced us to do cashless policy.
No you want to bill us for going cashless.
Who even started this Ussd policy?
SMS charge, Credit charge, Debit charge, Atm charge, Ussd charge. Maybe time for traditional banking is coming to an end.
Hello Kuda & VFD
— nightmares 🦋 (@heynighty) June 4, 2021
There goes a Happy New Month USSD text from the Nigerian Banking Industry to Nigerians.
Please enjoy! pic.twitter.com/3Zae62apAR
— Victor Mobughichi Azuka (@EnergyTBM) June 4, 2021
