• Carriers seek stoppage of bank deduction

By Lucas Ajanaku



The gulf created between banks and telecommunication companies over an ‘attempt’ by telcos to start the deduction of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is widening by the day.

The operators have accused the Body of Bank Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of insincerity.
Acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), the carriers, on Thursday faulted the directive stopping the telcos from deducting the charges while still allowing the banks to keep deducting.

ALTON’s Chairman Gbenga Adebayo, who spoke on the side of the Nigeria e-Government Conference, organised by DigiServe Network Services Limited at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, said the lenders have also not been transparent with the managment of the USSD cash.

Adebayo, who said it is trite in law that, if one is going to equity, one must go with clean hands, argued that the banks have not displayed enough sincerity on the matter.

The telcos had at a joint meeting claimed the banks had given them the go-ahead to start the deduction of the USSD charges.

But, the lenders, in an advertorial, rejected the firms’ position, accusing them, among others, of trying to frustrate the financial inclusion drive of the Federal Government.

After rejecting the allegations, the carriers argued that the lenders have benefited the most in the use of the platform, which was not originally designed as a cash cow.

In a leaked memo, the telcos said the decision “on whether, and what amount, to charge a customer for accessing USSD is entirely that of the telco company, in the same way a customer is billed for calls, SMS and data”.

A letter written by the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers (BOBCEO); endorsed by 13 banks and dated September 16, 2019, addressed to ALTON, showed that the bank managing directors had proposed an “orderly implementation” of end-user billing for bank customers, “aligning with the standard practice for USSD billing.”

They said: “Customers using non-bank services already pay for USSD sessions.”

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, immediately directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to suspend the implementation of the new charge.

In the memo to ALTON, the bank directors kicked against sharing the revenue from USSD transactions with the telcos.

The telcos, who provide the platform for the USSD service, had proposed to take a cut of N4.50k per 20 seconds from the charges paid by customers to the banks.

However, the banks kicked against it, alleging that it would raise the cost by 450 per cent.

https://thenationonlineng.net/banks-telcos-feud-over-ussd-charges-deepens/

The Telcos are just greedy. They want to milk their customers dry. Everybody that have looked at the argument of the telcos have come to the same conclusion that the USSD service cost is a sunk cost and doesn’t involve any additional expenditure on the part of the telcos. Still, they want to somehow recover it from their customers.

FG should not back down on this. The USSD charges must remain suspended. Telcos should sit down with the banks and see if they can get a share of what the banks are already making instead of attempting to impose additional charges.

Na that feud go kill una...bunch of criminals

In DonJazzy's voice

**Egbon, if it is the N4 you want, come and take it

Inside life

still do not give a fvck......
let them be there deceiving themselves

It's not all your fault since in this country no regulations nor Enforcement to the extent banks and telcoms they do as they wish.


God today is Friday all I pray for is a prosperous Nigeria with less deceitful SW, less boastful SS, less hateful SE and less arrogant North. I love the view and peace in other countries to replicate in this country. I wish for plenty funds like those in Arabian countries for us all cos its affect no one when all are rich. God I know we don't merit this things with our current behaviour but please help us, induct effort in us for a better **mortherland** just because of the innocent ones and the young generation they deserve better. AMIN

I believe the banks...
MTN and co can never be trusted

This Telcos are gradually increasing the dissatisfaction amongst it customers. The customers are now the cash cow, anytime their greedy ass needs money, they formulate one useless tax law.

Bunch of thieves

Greed everywhere

This country is full scam, make una leave yahoo boys alone ooo

Do the banks charge the TELCOs for accessing the bank services through USSD?

If not I don't see why they keep charging us.

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data

Sincerely i was about to google the full meaning of this acronym (USSD)..

Gather here if you are knowing this for the first time

Confusion break bone matter !!

Everybody sha wan dey bill the common man. Change!!!

seunmsg:
The Telcos are just greedy. They want to milk their customers dry. Everybody that have looked at the argument of the telcos have come to the same conclusion that the USSD service cost is a sunk cost and doesn’t involve and additional expenditure on the part of the telcos. Still, they want to somehow recover it from their customers.

FG should not back down on this. The USSD charges must remain suspended.

But Airtel dkn dey deduct this money no be this year....... e don teyy

seunmsg:
The Telcos are just greedy. They want to milk their customers dry. Everybody that have looked at the argument of the telcos have come to the same conclusion that the USSD service cost is a sunk cost and doesn’t involve and additional expenditure on the part of the telcos. Still, they want to somehow recover it from their customers.

FG should not back down on this. The USSD charges must remain suspended.

the banks are taking charges for service provided by the Telcos. The banks is Paul and they are robbing peter. Now the Telcos want them to share proceed robbed from peter. once the USSD deducted remains same as usual deduction from banks. I don't care .make them kill themselves.

Only the grass will suffer las las

Ok

something 9mobile and airtel has been deducting from time immemorial they should better stop them too MTN came under fire cause they announced theirs while others were doing secret deductions

Cooperate thieves

Please it should not be only suspended, it should be strike out asap. These telcos don't have human sympathy at all.
Nigeria is among the top countries paying highest charges for data and calls, yet you people with your callous mind want to add more charges just because of jamboree new minimum wage

Ok

dre11:
Acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), the carriers, on Thursday faulted the directive stopping the telcos from deducting the charges while still allowing the banks to keep deducting.

Are the telecommunications companies not being paid anything at all for USSD?

If the telecommunications companies are, at present, paid nothing, all they need to do is to stop providing the service. They cannot be forced to provide USSD for free.

This people posting this website ad are really useless.