The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has authorized telecommunication companies to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes assigned to nine financial institutions due to unpaid debts.
This directive was made in a Tuesday public notice signed by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka.
The telecom regulator has issued a deadline for affected banks. It said they must settle their outstanding obligations by January 27, 2025, or risk losing access to their USSD codes.
These codes, essential for enabling mobile banking services, could be reassigned to other applicants if the debts remain unresolved.
The affected financial institutions include Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Jaiz Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.
The affected USSD codes include *770#, *919#, *822#, among others.
Meanwhile, data from the CBN revealed that 252.06 million transactions worth N2.19 trillion were conducted via USSD between January and June 2024.
