National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Ekpenyong Emmanuel
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have issued a joint directive to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to settle the long-standing USSD debt dispute. The directive is aimed at resolving the protracted issue, which has been a subject of contention between the two parties.
According to the directive, DMBs and MNOs are expected to pay off a significant portion of the outstanding debt. The CBN and NCC expressed concerns over the prolonged dispute, which has affected the use of USSD platforms for banking services.
The regulators have mandated that 60% of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement. The payment is expected to be made by January 2, 2025, or in the case of installments, a date of July 2, 2025, is expected for the completion.
Furthermore, DMBs are expected to pay 85% of all outstanding invoices on post-API debts, which stem from transactions after the introduction of Application Programming Interfaces in February 2022. The regulators have also directed that 85% of all future invoices must be cleared within one month of issuance.
The directive states, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement. Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.”
The CBN and NCC have warned that failure to comply with the directive will attract necessary sanctions. The regulators have also directed that the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment terms. Additionally, a “10-seconds-rule” for USSD invoicing has been introduced, which will prevent the billing of sessions lasting less than 10 seconds.
The directive concludes, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
