Despite the country’s growing inflation and unemployment rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction for every Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service.
This implies that for every time a consumer uses a USSD service, a flat fee of N6.98 will be deducted.
In a statement, jointly signed by the apex bank’s acting director of corporate communications Osita Nwanisobi and director of public affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission Ikechukwu Adinde, the apex bank said the charges were effective from Tuesday.
This directive is just after the recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report indicated a surge in Nigeria’s unemployment rate.
As per the NBS report, the unemployment rate rose to 33.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020. This is a 23% rise from the 27.1% unemployment rate recorded in the second quarter of 2020. At this rate, at least one in three Nigerians is currently without a job.
With the surge, Nigeria has the second-highest unemployment rate on the global list of countries according to Bloomberg.
Likewise, inflation rate has jumped to 17.33 percent (year-on-year) in February 2021.
This according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is the highest level in four years.
However, the CBN said the agreement was reached when banks and telecommunication operators took consideration of the N42 billion debt owed by the banks to mobile operators.
To ensure transparency, the apex bank said the new USSD charges would be collected on behalf of mobile network operators (MNOs) directly from customers’ bank accounts.
“Effective March 16, 2021, USSD services for financial transactions conducted at DMBs and all CBN – licensed institutions will be charged at a flat fee of N6.98 per transaction. This replaces the current per session billing structure, ensuring a much cheaper average cost for customers to enhance financial inclusion. This approach is transparent and will ensure the amount remains the same, regardless of the number of sessions per transaction.
“A settlement plan for outstanding payments incurred for USSD services, previously rendered by the MNOs, is being worked out by all parties in a bid to ensure that the matter is fully resolved.”
The operational modalities for the implementation of the new USSD pricing framework will be decided by the MNOs and DMBs.
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