MTN: Banks Supported Our USSD Access Charges

Few days after MTN Nigeria suspended its initial plan to charge subscribers on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) end-user billing model, the telecoms company on Thursday insisted that the Short Message Service (SMS) notification  it sent to its customers was sent after formal requests received from individual banks as well as the Body of Bank CEOs to implement end-user billing.

The end-user billing, according to the company, is 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.

MTN, however, said it would continue to display transparency and focus on what really matters to its customers by finding ways to make sure that customers live a little easier.

"It is for this reason that we made transparency and simplicity central to the recent drawn-out engagements with the banks over USSD access charges and how they should be applied," MTN said in a statement signed by the Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah.

According to the statement, “Following consultation with industry stakeholders, customer feedback and media reports related to the message notifying our customers of upcoming changes in our charging model for access to banking services via the USSD channel, we wish to confirm that the new charging model has not gone into effect.

 

"The situation has made it necessary to restate that MTN Nigeria, in line with our company policy, will always be transparent in our dealings with customers, the industry and relevant regulatory bodies. The SMS notification to our customers is reflective of this commitment and 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 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 (CBN) guidelines.

"It is in fact in line with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy of the Nigerian Government that we resisted the calls for end-user billing. We relented only after exhausting avenues of engagement with the banks in pursuit of a model that enabled a single charge. We believe that separate charges by the banks and telecoms companies are an unnecessary burden to the consumer especially the target group that the National Financial Inclusion Strategy is aimed at.

"With this in mind, it is imperative for all parties to approach the table and engage constructively towards a solution, putting the consumer at the fore of all decisions. The banks have been and still are our esteemed customers and valued partners. We look forward to collaborating with them and other stakeholders, and will be glad to implement the decisions approved by our regulators."