Business
Banks Chiefs Slam MTN, Say USSD Service Should Be Free
By Emmanuel Aziken, Editor
Chief executive officers of Nigeria’s banks have welcomed the directive by the National Communications Commission, NCC to telecommunication companies to suspend charges for USSD service saying that the decision will help them to achieve 80% financial inclusion in 2020.
Responding to the assertion by MTN that its decision to charge for the use of the USSD channel was on the prompting of the banks, the Body of Bank CEOs in a statement said that it was unheard of for the banks to charge for the service when they were neither in control nor could guarantee for.
The response of the bank came in the wake of claims that some of the networks were still charging their subscribers for the service.
MTN had instigated the brouhaha when it gave notice of its intention to commence charging for use of the USSD on the claim that its competitors were already charging for it.
But responding in a statement, the bank CEOs said:
“The Body of Bank CEOs applauds the recent notice from the National Communications Commission, NCC announcing the immediate suspension of end-user billing for USSD services. We would like to thank the Federal Government of Nigeria for championing this action.
“When presented with the two options by the telecommunications companies – corporate billing versus end-user billing – banks supported the standard practice for a relationship between a telecommunications company and their subscribers. We proposed the same method they charge for voice calls, SMS and data. We then asked to work with the telecommunications companies to bring the cost of their USSD service down for Nigerians. We were therefore very surprised at the announcements from MTN on the 19th and 20th October.
“Since banks cannot reasonably be expected to charge for the service of another industry, over which they have no control of price, quality and security we are delighted that consumers will now be able to access their bank for free, using USSD. This is a giant leap for the National Financial Inclusion Strategy where, through Bank’s subsidizing USSD, we have already been able to bring 20m Nigerians into the formal financial system in recent years.
“The Banks, supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria, have long advocated the designation of USSD services as a critical national asset to enable such free access to USSD. Indeed, in countries like India, free access to USSD channels have long been established to successfully drive financial inclusion.
“We look forward to working with the telecommunications industry to achieve the objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. We believe that with this new development, we will achieve 80% financial inclusion in 2020.”
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