MTN had on Sunday sent a message to customers saying it would begin charging N4 per 20 second use of the channel.
Out of the four key mobile network operators, only MTN sent this message to customers.
MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd has reiterated the view of the Association of licensed Telecom Operators, saying it was forced to charge customers for accessing bank services via the Universal Structured Service Database channel by the body of bank Chief Executive Officers.
MTN had on Sunday sent a message to customers saying it would begin charging N4 per 20 second use of the channel.
Out of the four key mobile network operators, only MTN sent this message to customers.
The firm in a statement said, “The SMS notification to our customers was sent after formal requests received from individual banks as well as the Body of Bank CEOs to implement end-user billing – a billing methodology where the customer is directly charged USSD access fees irrespective of the service charges that the bank may subsequently apply to their bank account.
“It should be noted that the banks had up-till now been on a corporate billing plan where a corporate client, the provider of the service that is accessed through the USSD channel (in this case the bank), pays the access fees at a wholesale price.”
The statement further hinted that the End-user billing it was forced to implement before the intervention of the Nigeria Communications Commission, goes against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s guidelines.
MTN further said the intended model is also not in line with the National Finance Inclusion Strategy policy of the government.
It added, “We believe the costs associated with USSD banking services should be charged to the consumer only once – as with other USSD based services we provide, which we believe has been adequately provisioned for within existing Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines.”
The NCC had on Tuesday quashed the planned end-user charge.