{"id":120654,"date":"2025-07-15T03:51:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T02:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=120654"},"modified":"2025-07-15T03:51:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T02:51:27","slug":"banks-begin-charging-ussd-fees-from-airtime-july-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/banks-begin-charging-ussd-fees-from-airtime-july-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Banks Begin Charging USSD Fees from Airtime July 15"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>By \u200eDaniel Adaji<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eNearly one month after announcing a major billing change, Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria will, from July 15, begin deducting USSD banking fees directly from customers\u2019 mobile airtime balances rather than their bank accounts.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eIn a message sent to customers on Monday, First Bank of Nigeria said, \u201cDear Customer, please be informed that effective July 15th, 2025, N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance, no longer from your bank account. Thank you.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eThis development follows the Nigerian Communications Commission\u2019s (NCC) directive issued earlier on June 3, introducing an End-User Billing (EUB) model that mandates mobile network operators\u2014not banks\u2014to collect USSD service charges.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eUnited Bank for Africa (UBA), which was among the first to inform its customers, explained: \u201cCharges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from your bank account. These charges will be deducted directly from your mobile airtime balance in accordance with the NCC\u2019s End-User Billing (EUB) model.\u201d<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eUnder the new billing structure, customers will be charged N6.98 for every 120 seconds of a USSD session. Banks also clarified that users will be prompted to give consent before any airtime deduction takes place.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200e\u201cYou will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and availability of the bank to fulfil this service,\u201d UBA added.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eThose unwilling to continue under the new model have the option to opt out. \u201cIf you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may choose to discontinue use of the USSD channel,\u201d the message stated.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eTo ensure continued access to services, banks are urging customers to explore other channels. \u201cAlternative digital banking options, such as our mobile app and internet banking platform, remain available for your convenience,\u201d UBA noted.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eThe NCC introduced the EUB framework to resolve longstanding disputes between banks and telecom providers over who should bear the cost of USSD transactions. By shifting the billing to telecoms, the commission seeks to improve transparency and user control.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<div>\u200eThe banks assured customers that they remain committed to delivering secure, accessible, and customer-friendly banking services.<\/div>\n<div>\u200e<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By \u200eDaniel Adaji \u200e \u200eNearly one month after announcing a major billing change, Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria will, from July 15, begin deducting USSD banking fees directly from customers\u2019&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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