Hold your bank responsible for USSD double charge, ALTON Chairman says

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, has assured that telecom operators will ensure that USSD transactions are seamless under the new billing regime.

He noted that transaction failures could occur from the banks: “If there’s a failure from the network, the customer will not be billed, but if it’s from the bank, they will be billed because it is successful from the operator’s side.”

Joined by MTN’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Lynda Saint Nwafor, Engr. Adebayo explained the new billing model in a chat with media executives today.

The session also addressed concerns about transparency, accountability, and the impact on financial inclusion. The service has served as a viable banking alternative for millions of users because it can work without the internet.

He envisaged an unlikely situation where users could be charged the N6.98 USSD fee twice for the same transaction: first on their airtime by the telecoms service provider and their bank balances.

In such instances, he advised them to approach their banks for a refund.

Read also: USSD: Airtime recharge excluded from new N6.98 charge, MTN Says

“Let me add for emphasis; if people see a deduction from their bank account after they have been charged on their airtime, they should go to the bank. This is because the bank is not supposed to charge them for the service, which is double billing.  I just want to put that on record,” he said.

Asked how the new billing regime will affect subscribers, Lynda Saint-Nwafor said there is no significant impact or change other than the fact that they will now pay the same N6.98 per session (120 seconds) with their airtime instead of direct bank debit.

She added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered telecom operators to ensure that the new billing model resolves trust issues and ensures transparency in the billing process.

“Our regulator insisted that at the end of every month, we are going to be providing history and statistics on the performance of the service across the board”, she explained.

Lynda added that the new billing model, thus standardises messaging across all operators and ensures consistent communication with customers.

“We will take all the error codes and map them into messages that are standardised across the board. So, if you initiate a transaction, you will know if it is failing. And, when the transaction fails, you will know if it is from your bank or the telco”, she explained.

Under the new USSD billing regime, customers will receive consent messages before being charged for USSD transactions. After that, the telcos will reach out to their banks, through an aggregator, to confirm their eligibility.

Yet, when transactions fail because of the bank’s services, the customers will still be charged. “Telcos are like your Uber ride. If it gets you successfully to your destination, you have to pay, even if you do not achieve your objective for going” Engr. Adebayo explained.

“If there is a network issue that impacts the transaction delivery, we will not bill the customer. Even when we have, we will reverse that billing. But if that failure emanates from the bank or the aggregators for which we have no direct responsibility, we will bill the customer”.

He, however, added that the telco will also notify customers when transactions fail because of bank unavailability or aggregator issues.

Both ALTON and the telco agree that USSD services are not meant for emergency uses and that customers will not be allowed free or borrowed access if they don’t have airtime or have a zero account balance.

“There are toll-free emergency numbers like 112 and 121 if people are in distress. I don’t think that the USSD service is ideal if you have an emergency”, he concluded.