The Nigerian Communications Commission and telecommunications companies have ruled out any extension to the deadline for banks to settle their Unstructured Supplementary Service Data debts.

This decision leaves defaulting lenders scrambling to meet the deadline by the close of business on Monday.

Initially, nine banks were in arrears, but by Friday, the number had dropped to seven, according to the telcos who spoke to our correspondent. Of these, only two lenders had made payments. By Monday’s close, one more bank indicated its intention to settle, leaving six banks still in arrears.

This unfolding development follows a directive issued by the telecom regulator on January 15, 2025, warning the nine banks to clear their debts by January 27, 2025, or risk losing access to their USSD codes—an essential service enabling millions of Nigerians to conduct banking transactions without internet access.

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, confirmed to The PUNCH that the number of defaulting banks had decreased to seven as of Friday. However, only two banks had made their payments.

“One of these seven has reached out to confirm that they will settle their debt today (Monday), which will leave about five or six banks still outstanding,” Adebayo explained.

This current enforcement, Adebayo explained, is part of the first phase of a structured payment plan outlined in a December 20 memo from the NCC and the CBN.

The memo details a three-phase payment obligation for banks to settle the N250bn USSD debt, with clear deadlines for each phase.

The first phase requires banks to settle 60 per cent of all outstanding pre-API invoices by January 2, 2025.

Adebayo emphasised that this first phase is critical, as failure to meet the deadline could trigger disconnection of USSD services, a vital channel for millions of Nigerians who rely on mobile banking for everyday transactions.

https://punchng.com/ussd-debt-ncc-telcos-rule-out-deadline-extension-for-banks/