The Nigerian Communications Commission and Central Bank of Nigeria have finally reached a decision that effective March 16th, 2021, end-users will be charged a flat fee of 6.98 Naira for every transaction. This new billing structure is expected to provide a much cheaper alternative for customers while achieving financial inclusion.
The new arrangement states that banks will not impose any added charges for using the USSD channels while the outstanding 42 billion Naira estimate which was previously owed by banks for the USSD services will be settled in due course.
The two regulatory bodies took the opportunity to advise Nigerians to explore other bank channels for their financial services as the USSD remains optional. The turn of events did not sit well with many Nigerians as the initial arrangement between Telcos and the financial institutions were agreed upon and were not upheld by the banks due to some ratification claims.
The newer arrangement appears to be some form of risk transfer to the consumers to pay for services being used by the banks to provide value to the customers. At this point, it is still unclear how many individuals plan to ditch the USSD platforms however, the rise of the USSD was a game-changer for the banking scene in Nigeria as many unbanked people who prior had limited or no access to financial institutions embraced it with open arms.
As traditional banking seem to be more cost-intensive with each policy, there is also the risk of turning away customers to more internet-savvy and free options such as fintechs that are now gaining steam in consumer circles.