Photo caption: Union Bank logo
Union Bank, First City Monument Bank and Ecobank have informed their customers that it will commence the deduction of USSD banking charges from airtime instead of their bank accounts, effective July 1st (Tuesday) and July 2 (Wednesday).
According to a notice sent via email to its customers, Union Bank said the move was in line with a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Apart from the email that it sent to its customers in June, FCMB sent text messages to its customers indicating that the charges would commence on Wednesday.
With this notice, Union Bank and FCMB have joined a growing list of lenders who have moved to the NCC’s end-user billing model for USSD banking. The new model allows the telcos to deduct USSD service charges directly from subscribers’ airtime balances, eliminating the role of banks as intermediaries in the payment process.
Mobile operators had complained that banks were collecting service fees from customers without remitting the funds to operators, despite having received over N200bn worth of services by the end of 2024.
In the email on the new model, Union Bank said, “Under this new billing structure, each USSD session will attract a charge of N6.98 per 120 seconds, which your mobile network operator will bill. You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session, and airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation and the bank’s availability to fulfill this service.
“If you do not wish to continue using USSD banking under this new model, you may opt for alternative digital banking options, such as our mobile app and internet banking platform.”
The message that FCMB sent to its customers read, “Dear Customer, effective July 2, the N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance and no longer from your bank account. Consent will be requested.”
In the email Ecobank sent to customers, it said: “Dear valued customer, we are writing to inform you about an important change to the USSD banking charges. In line with a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), please be informed that the N6.98k session charges for the USSD banking service will now be deducted from your airtime balance under the End-User Billing model.”
What you need to know:
“* You will receive a consent prompt at the start of each session; airtime will only be deducted upon your confirmation.
“* Ensure you have enough airtime for transactions like transfers and balance checks.
“* No session charge applies for airtime and data purchase via the USSD quick strings – *326*Amount# and *326*001#.
“Alternative digital banking options, such as our Mobile App and Ecobank Online, remain available for your convenience. Kindly visit the App Store or Play Store to download.
“To opt-out of USSD banking, please call our contact center on +234700 500 0000 or visit the nearest Ecobank branch.”
