Since telcos revealed yesterday that the debt has increased to N80 billion, the dispute between Nigerian banks and telecommunications providers over the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) debt appears to have resurfaced.
This information was made public in Lagos by Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), who also issued a warning that telcos would cut off service to defaulting banks.
You may recall that as of April 2021, the USSD debt was N45 billion. Bank customers will experience difficulties with transfers and other service-related transactions if the threat is carried out.
The majority of banks’ digital channels are already overloaded, which results in epileptic services. Sources claim that the problem has been made more difficult by the widespread resignation of the majority of the banks’ IT specialists, who have moved abroad.
Even though USSD is crucial for banks to offer a variety of services to their clients, it is run by telcos. USSD is a technology that enables text messaging between users’ SIMs and bank clients.
Adebayo said while some banks are making payments, others have remained unconcerned at the NITRA ICT Growth Conference 2.0 with the theme “Creating a Digital Ecosystem in Nigeria: The Hurdles, The Gains”.
In response, he stated that telecom companies may decentralize the USSD services in accordance with past debts. He claims that when the issue originally surfaced about a year and a half ago, the debt was under N40 billion, but that it increased to about N80 billion because the banks “refused to comply and pay as and when due.”
The head of ALTON warned that banks with failing loans would lose access to the USSD service. ALTON had threatened to shut down USSD platforms due to a $103 million debt in December 2019. ALTON claims that over a period of two years, neither banks nor users of the service were charged.
The fee was set at N6.98 per transaction after two years of discussions, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Communications Commission (NCC) passing the costs on to customers.
Speaking about the difficulties of having various taxes imposed on operators by some state governments, Adebayo stressed that the issue has grown to be a significant pain for the sector and that operators are subject to over 40 separate taxes.
Adebayo said that the national tariff regime ought to end while highlighting the necessity for quick action. The ALTON CEO did not hesitate to acknowledge that businesses might set discriminatory prices.
“I don’t see why hostile states should not be treated the same way they are treating operators. Friendly states will be treated the same. Plans are on to introduce discriminatory prices, especially those states, which see telcos as a cash cow,” Adebayo stated.
Speaking on the increased number of core technology staff members quitting their jobs and moving abroad, Adebayo claimed that many of the relocations are unnecessary.
He claimed that some professionals who leave the country wind up working as social workers despite not having the appropriate jobs. To boost the country’s ability to retain experts, he urged for increased security and the economy.
Ajibola Olude, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), provided additional information on the difficulties facing the banks by stating that more than 2000 IT specialists employed by the banks had left the country and resigned.
Olude called for support for the ICT industry, claiming that the crisis has made the banking sector’s issues worse.
According to him, the industry should receive the required support so that it can contribute more to the country’s GDP, which is close to 20%.
