FG, CBN, telcos, banks meet over lenders’ N42bn USSD debt
Femi Adeluyi
The planned disconnection of financial service providers (FSP) from Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services by telecommunications operators has been put on hold.
Weighing the potential impact the action would have on the socioeconomic lives of the citizens, the Federal Government, at the weekend, asked telecom service providers to shelve their impending suspension of USSD services over a N42 billion debt owed by banks.
The suspension order was contained in a statement signed by Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant on Information Technology to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Patami.
Last week, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), in a statement, said telcos would disconnect financial service providers from USSD services from March 15 until they paid their over N42 billion debt.
ALTON had explained that the service withdrawal became necessary due to lack of agreement on a payment structure with the banks that did not involve the end-user being asked to pay.
However, in the statement on Saturday night titled, ‘Impending Suspension of USSD Banking Services Put on Hold’, the minister asked the mobile operators to abort the action.
The statement partly read, “In a bid to ensure amicable resolution of the impasse, Dr. Pantami has called for a meeting of all stakeholders, including governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission), the MNOs (Mobile Network Operators), and the financial institutions.
“The meeting is scheduled to hold on Monday, March 15, 2021.
“The outcome of the meeting will determine the next step regarding the status of the USSD financial services.” (Daily Independent)
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