The Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC has approved telecommunications companies to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes assigned to nine banks over unpaid debt.
This was announced in a directive signed by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka.
The affected financial institutions include Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.
The NCC said that the affected banks are to pay the outstanding debts by January 27, 2025, or risk losing access to their USSD codes.
The NCC disclosed that nine out of 18 financial institutions had not complied with regulatory directives despite efforts made by the commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The NCC said the initial debt owed by financial institutions was over N200bn.
It however revealed that other banks have cleared their debts except the nine banks.
NCC said, “By the information made available to the commission as at close of business on Tuesday, 14th January 2025, of a total of 18 financial institutions, the nine institutions listed below have failed to comply significantly with the directives in the Second Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the commission dated December 20, 2024, for the settlement of outstanding invoices due to MNOS, some since 2020.”
The NCC said the affected USSD codes include 770, 919, and 822, among others.
The commission said the codes could be reassigned to other applicants if the debts remain unpaid.
NCC said, “In fulfilment of its consumer protection mandate, the commission wishes to inform consumers that they may be unable to access the USSD platform of the affected financial institutions from January 27, 2025.”
The NCC emphasized that the financial institutions had been duly notified of the need for immediate compliance and warned that consumers may face service disruptions if the issues remain unresolved.
