Telcos plan to disconnect banks' USSD codes over ₦120 billion debt

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) intend to disconnect banks if the debt is not paid.Telecommunications operators in Nigeria say the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given them permission to disconnect banks with debts of 120 billion Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).This was revealed in a statement released on Friday in Lagos by Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). He stated that if banks did not pay their debts, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) will disconnect them. According to Adebayo, the consent was granted because, despite multi-party stakeholder efforts to address the matter and avoid any impact on services, banks continued to accrue more debt without making comparable payments. He said that unfortunately, MNOs were not getting paid for their services and the debt that stood at ₦42 billion in 2021 had now risen to over ₦120 billion. "It is obvious that the level of debt is unsustainable given the time or value of the huge cost of the continuous upgrade, operation of the systems and infrastructure dedicated to supporting USSD transactions of banks. "In view of the foregoing, unless banks meet their debt obligations, MNOs will disconnect all banks indebted to them for USSD services rendered," Adebayo said.