Guarantee Trust Bank along with other banks will begin implementation of a new charging model for its banking activities involving unstructured supplemental service data on Wednesday June 18.
According to a message sent to customers, the N6.98 transaction fee will now be deducted from airtime balances, rather than bank accounts, starting today, June 18, 2025.
This move is part of a larger industry realignment that was ordered by the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to settle ongoing fights between banks and telecom providers over unpaid USSD service fees.
“Dear Customer, please be informed that effective 18 June 2025, the N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance, no longer from your bank account. Thank you,” the message read.
According to previous report, Deposit Money Banks were instructed by the NCC to begin charging customers for unstructured supplemental service data transactions straight from their mobile airtime.
In the past, banks automatically passed on USSD usage charges to telecom firms while billing customers through their bank accounts.
However, telcos objected to banks making money off of the service while evading or postponing payments for the use of the infrastructure, resulting in debts that were projected to reach ₦250 billion by 2024.
The NCC implemented an End-User Billing model to rectify this imbalance, directing banks to transfer fees to airtime billing and repay debts only after past-due obligations have been settled.
Users will be prompted at the beginning of each USSD session under the new paradigm, and airtime will only be taken away after confirmation, assuming there is enough balance.
Join Our Social Media Channels:
WhatsApp: NaijaEyes
Facebook: NaijaEyes
Twitter: NaijaEyes
Instagram: NaijaEyes
TikTok: NaijaEyes
