Telecommunication giant, MTN Nigeria has denied placing charges on bank transaction carried out by its customers through Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) which allows the customers access bank services through their mobile phones.
According to Bizwatch, senior manager in charge of External Relations in MTN, Mr. Funso Aina noted that the telecom company had not started implementing the new charge contrary to reports making waves in the media.
He said the company decided to pend the charges following a directive it received from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as ordered by the minister of communications, Dr. Isa Ali Panatmi.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has also ordered the commercial banks to cut off business ties with any telecommunication operator that charge bank customers who use USSD for transactions.
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Speaking during a press briefing at the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF meetings in Washington DC on Sunday, the CBN Governor said: “About five months ago, I held a meeting with some telecom companies as well as the leading banks in Nigeria and the issue of USSD came up. At that time, we came to the conclusion that the use of USSD is a sunk cost which is not an additional cost on the infrastructure of the telecom companies.
‘But the telecoms companies disagreed with us and said it’s an additional investment and they needed to impose it. I appeal to them that they should review it downwards and they refused,’ he said.
Mr Emefiele added: “I understand that three or four weeks ago, rather than reduce it, they went ahead to increase it by 300 percent. I opposed it and I have told the banks that we will not allow this to happen. The banks are the people who give this business to the telecom companies and I leave the banks and the telecom companies to engage. I have told the banks that they have to move their business, move their traffic to a telecom company that is ready to provide it at the lowest possible if not zero cost”
Source: Bizwatch
Samson Oyedeyi
