Millions of Nigerian banking consumers, small-scale traders, and Point of Sale (PoS) operators are experiencing widespread transaction failures when using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) channels. The widespread disruptions have left users unable to complete urgent transfers, even when their bank accounts are well funded.
Far from being a temporary technical hitch, these failures stem from a major restructuring of the payment ecosystem overseen by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The agencies have implemented a mandatory End-User Billing (EUB) model alongside stricter security checks to curb mobile identity theft.
1. The Mechanics of the End-User Billing Framework
The core structural change revolves around how USSD session fees are collected. Historically, commercial banks deducted these platform charges directly from a customer’s bank account before settling with telecommunications providers behind the scenes. This setup led to a long-running dispute between banks and telecom firms over unpaid fees, creating a massive debt pool that reached nearly ₦300 billion by early 2026.
To resolve this bottleneck, regulators migrated the ecosystem to the End-User Billing model, which completely rewires the payment pipeline:
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Airtime-First Deductions: Every 120-second USSD banking session now costs a flat rate of ₦6.98. This fee is deducted directly from the customer’s mobile airtime balance by their Mobile Network Operator (MNO), not from their bank account.
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The Zero-Airtime Block: If the SIM card linked to a bank account has a zero or insufficient airtime balance, the session fails instantly at the telecom gateway level. The request never reaches the bank’s internal switch, regardless of how many millions are in the bank account.
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Double-Billing Safeguards: To protect consumers, the NCC has banned banks from charging independent internal fees for providing USSD access. MNOs are also required to provide clear end-of-session SMS alerts outlining the exact airtime deductions.
2. Regulatory Oversight and Anti-Fraud Enhancements
The transaction friction is further intensified by the deployment of advanced risk-mitigation layers. Regulators have integrated digital channels with the Telecom Industry Risk Management System (TIRMS) platform.
This system allows banks to run real-time checks on whether a mobile line has been recently swapped, recycled, or flagged for suspicious activity before authorizing a session. While these stricter compliance checks are essential for stopping SIM-swap fraud, they add processing time to session handshakes, occasionally causing timeout failures on older mobile devices.
| Feature / Metric | Legacy USSD Model | Current End-User Billing Framework |
| Primary Fee Source | Direct debit from customer bank statement ledger. | Instant deduction from mobile network airtime credit. |
| Standard Session Fee | Varied based on individual bank tariffs. | Fixed at ₦6.98 per 120-second session loop. |
| Core Technical Trigger | Required only a registered SIM and sufficient bank funds. | Requires a registered SIM, sufficient bank funds, AND airtime. |
| Fraud Mitigation Layer | Standard multi-factor PIN verification. | Real-time cross-matching via the TIRMS anti-fraud platform. |
3. Impact on Retail Outlets and Financial Inclusion
The lack of a widespread public awareness campaign before the rollout has created considerable confusion on the ground. Customer service desks at major banks—including First Bank, FCMB, UBA, Access Bank, and Stanbic IBTC—have faced long queues of frustrated consumers trying to understand why their transaction codes are failing.
The disruption has hit neighborhood PoS kiosks and roadside traders particularly hard. These operators rely heavily on quick USSD codes to confirm incoming customer transfers in areas with poor or spotty internet data. To avoid failed sessions, financial authorities are advising users to keep a basic airtime balance on their transaction SIMs or switch to data-reliant mobile banking applications and internet portals whenever possible.
