Telecom operators on Thursday, disclosed that the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have completed the entire stretch of the protracted Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debts.

The service providers under the aegis, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said as of today, no banks owed them any debt.

Speaking of their behalf, ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, during a visit to the Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Idris Olorunnimbe, said the about N300 billion has been paid fully.

Adebayo, appreciated the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, for his immense support in seeing the debt fully paid. He said the sector has migrated to End-User-Billing system to ensure subscribers are billed accordingly and charges are directed to the appropriate channels.

Recall that for about five years, the telecom operators battled to recover the about N300 billion USSD debts from the banks, until 2024/2025 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and NCC reigned in with new directives that ensured the payments were made.

In the first quarter of 2025, the telcos had concluded plans to withdraw the USSD service from the affected banks, about 18 of them. But the intervention of both NCC and CBN saved the system.

The operators introduced the End-User Billing system on June 18, 2025.

Last year, the ALTON boss said the billing model would allow mobile network operators to charge customers directly for USSD sessions, with charges deducted from airtime balance at N6.98 per 120 seconds.

He noted that customers would receive a prompt to opt-in and approve the charge before deduction, and billing would only occur for successful sessions.

Adebayo assured that the change would not affect USSD banking services’ availability or functionality, and customers could continue using bank USSD codes with sufficient airtime.

“USSD services play a vital role in expanding access to financial services, particularly for unbanked and underbanked populations.

“However, the previous corporate billing model where banks were billed by telecom operators led to prolonged disputes over unpaid charges, service interruptions and uncertainty for customers.

“To address these challenges, the NCC’s 2025 determination introduced the End-User Billing (EUB) model, which allows mobile network operators to charge customers directly for USSD sessions.

“To achieve the implementation of the EUB model, the CBN and NCC have stipulated that only banks that meet certain regulatory and operational conditions are permitted to migrate,” he said