Nigerian telecom giant, MTN Nigeria, has successfully retrieved ₦32 billion from banks as part of its outstanding debts tied to Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services.

Although the telecom giant had retrieved this amount, approximately ₦42 billion is yet to be paid, with other telecom operators also awaiting settlements.

The total estimate for all the telcos initially stood at ₦250 billion, which was later revised to ₦212 billion — 81% of the original figure.

This longstanding issue dates back to 2019, when banks continued charging their customers for the service without remitting the corresponding fees to the telecom companies.

In 2021, telecom operators threatened to disconnect the USSD service; however, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) intervened to prevent a service disruption.

By June 2024, some banks had allegedly begun making payments, but it seems the issue was not resolved, further prompting regulatory action.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCC intervened after major telecom providers (MTN, Airtel, GLO, and 9mobile) threatened to cut off banks from their USSD service.

CBN set a payment deadline for January 2, 2025, while the NCC stated that if any bank failed to remit the charges on or before January 27, 2025, the USSD codes would be cut off and reassigned to other businesses.

Despite these clear deadlines, many banks failed to meet their obligations, with no immediate consequences announced for the missed payments.

Telecom operators in Nigeria have been attempting to recover the debt owed, but all efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the banks still charge their customers for using the USSD service.

The debt recovery is crucial for MTN Nigeria, which just recorded a ₦400.4 billion loss after tax for the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2024, a sharp increase from its ₦137 billion loss in 2023.

Although the telco attributed this loss to the naira devaluation and forex losses, the unresolved USSD debt contributed to the shortfall.

The retrieval of ₦32 billion seems like a step forward in the debt settlement, the remaining ₦42 billion along with the debts owed to other telecom operators signal that the issue is far from over.

With the NCC and CBN monitoring the issue, the next few months will be crucial in determining if the telecom sector can finally close this chapter or if another stand-off is looming.