Bank CEOs knock MTN, say, we did not tell you to charge N4 for USSD

LAGOS, Nigeria -Body of Bank Chief Executive Officers have come down hard on MTN Nigeria Plc, one of the telecommunications operator for sending short text messages to Nigerians on Sunday that banks in Nigeria have prevailed on it to charge N4 for USSD transactions.

In the message, MTN also directed Nigerians to contact their banks for more information. But in a statement, Body of Bank CEOs stated unequivocally that it did not direct MTN to act on same, contrary to the message.

“We wish to state as follows: That the banks did not ask MTN to start charging customers as contained in the text message”, adding that the decision on whether, and what amount, to charge a customer for accessing USSD is entirely that of the telco company, in the same way a customer is billed for calls, SMS and data.

“MTN is the only Telco that is yet to implement end-user billing which is the standard practice for customer-initiated transactions. 

“This is despite the fact that the banks, working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), have engaged MTN over a period of more than one year to try and bring down the cost of USSD to aid financial inclusion”, the Body of Bank CEOs noted.

The banks chief executives explained that banks are determined to pursue the National Financial Inclusion Strategy of the Federal Government of Nigeria and will continue to advocate that Telcos identify wholeheartedly with this laudable initiative and implement transparent and low pricing model in the use of USSD access codes.

“We wish to re-iterate that financial transaction charges are regulated by the CBN as stipulated in the Bankers Tariff, and that the charges for financial transactions carried out with banks remain unchanged”, the Body of Bank CEOs said.