The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has implemented a new directive requiring that all charges for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions be deducted from customers’ mobile airtime instead of their bank accounts.
The new billing structure, which took effect today, June 3, 2025, introduces the End-User Billing (EUB) system. Under this model, users will be charged ₦6.98 per 120 seconds for each USSD session, with fees now billed directly by their mobile network operators.
The change was confirmed in a customer notice from United Bank for Africa (UBA), which emphasized that the new system would require users to provide consent before any transaction. Airtime will only be deducted if the customer accepts the charges and if the bank’s services are available to complete the request.
The NCC said the move is intended to simplify billing, enhance transparency, and reduce disputes between banks and telecom providers over USSD fee settlement.
