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…It’s threatening financial inclusion –Experts
By Uche Usim
There is growing discontent among bank depositors in Nigeria who have raised the alarm that rising incidents of charges without value on various electronic banking channels have reached unbearable limits.
According to them, the most scathing experience is the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charges. It is a real-time communication protocol used to interact with a mobile network operator’s computer systems and does not require a smartphone or internet connection, making it accessible on all mobile devices and ideal for services like mobile banking, checking account balances or managing phone services.
Joy Manuel, a trader in Ajao Estate, Lagos, said she tried buying some wares to restock her little shop via USSD.
According to her, she was debited twice without value.
“I was stuck. I lost my money temporarily and I couldn’t get the product I wanted. It happened on a Sunday and I can’t do anything till the next working day. How do we go cashless under this kind of unsavoury atmosphere?”, she queried.
Henry Asogwa, another ‘victim’ also said he carried out a transaction on USSD but got debited without value.
“Banks are encouraging us to use informal electronic banking channels but they have not perfected these systems.
“I made a transfer but got debited and the other end didn’t get credited. I actually wanted to buy foodstuff. The seller refused to part with the stuff I bought. So, I went to bed hungry. It was a Saturday. Banks won’t open. The funds didn’t reverse. It has left my account, the other end didn’t get value and I went to bed hungry. That is why a typical northern trader prefers cash. They don’t have the patience for this predation”, he lamented.
Unfortunately, these two cases are not isolated.
They mirror the growing unpalatable experience of bank customers with calls for CBN’s intervention reaching a crescendo.
The apex bank on the other hand has advised customers to report unresolved glitches to its consumer protection unit.
A visit to a typical commercial bank on Mondays shows chaos as long lines of frustrated customers snake several meters.
Majority of them are for failed transaction resolution.
Experts insist that the rising cases of failed USSD transactions and unexplained deductions from bank customers’ accounts are threatening Nigeria’s push for financial inclusion.
According to Mr. Yusuf Adeyemo, National Vice President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), the issue has become a major source of frustration for millions of Nigerians who rely heavily on USSD for basic banking services.
“Many Nigerians still depend on USSD for transactions, but the experience of losing money is now discouraging them from using the channel.
“We are not even talking about agents because they might not be affected much as they use POS. But we are worried for a lot of our customers who have had to use USSD code unsuccessfully, yet they were debited”, he said.
He lamented that while some people may see the ₦6.98 USSD charge as insignificant, repeated deductions for failed transactions have become “hidden costs” weighing down bank customers.
“This is making financial inclusion in Nigeria more expensive and may discourage many from putting money in their bank accounts,” Adeyemo stressed.
He added that some customers have even lost money attempting simple tasks such as checking their BVN or retrieving their NIN.
“Affordability is the basis of financial inclusion. When it is no longer affordable to carry out financial transactions, then people get discouraged.
“There’s a need for the banks and the telecom operators to look at it critically. If a transaction is not successful, who is tracking it back to pay the consumer back? It’s a conversation we all need to sit down to resolve”, he stated.
With the introduction of end-user billing on June 18, telecom operators now deduct USSD charges directly from customers’ airtime rather than through banks. This change, approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was meant to resolve the long-standing dispute between banks and telcos over unpaid USSD debts.
But the new model has further complicated accountability.
The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, insisted that telcos cannot be blamed for failed transactions.
“Operators deliver you to the infrastructure of the bank; we have no control over what happens there.
“Sometimes, just like the ATM where you don’t have money, when you interact with the bank, the server may be resetting or taking signals. You can’t blame the operator for that incomplete service
“I went to the bank to collect my debit card. My driver took me there. After collecting the card, I went to the ATM. The first machine had no money, the second had no money. I went back and complained. They confirmed my card was fine, but the ATM had no cash. I can’t blame my driver for that. He delivered me to the bank.”
A senior bank official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, argued that the lenders should not be blamed under the current billing system.
“How can you blame the banks for the money they are not collecting? USSD is now on end-user billing; the telcos are the ones deducting money directly from customers, not the banks,” the official said.
While acknowledging occasional technical issues, he maintained that banks are investing heavily in infrastructure to ensure more seamless transactions.
Depositors are insisting that telcos cannot be absolved from complicity because they are the ones collecting the money.
To rebuild trust, bank customers insist that charges should only apply after a successful transaction, while telcos should be mandated to auto-refund airtime where a session fails, just like bank reversal notifications.
They also noted that the NCC must compel telcos to create user-friendly, time-bound dispute resolution platforms where customers can easily report and resolve airtime deductions for failed transactions.
An NCC official, who declined to be named, confirmed that the Commission has received multiple reports of the problem and would soon announce modalities to address the issue.
The NCC, alongside the CBN, was instrumental in approving the end-user billing regime after years of disputes between banks and telcos over remittances.
However, for millions of Nigerians who are being debited without value, they are wondering when the issue will be resolved as they remain at the receiving end of the horror.
