MTN USSD: Minister Assures Of Restored USSD Services

PHOTOS: MTN MIP Fellows Visit University of Johannesburg

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, announced that the issue between telecoms network MTN Nigeria and commercial banks was being resolved.

He said this in a tweet late Friday evening, stating that he had met with regulators and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Pantami tweeted, “On the fallout between @MTNNG and some banks on USSD services today, I engaged with both regulators, the Governor of @cenbank and EVC @NgComCommission.

“We have reached an advance stage of resolving the issues, for the services to be restored to our citizens. Many thanks!”

Recall that BizWatch Nigeria reported that MTN customers experienced disruptions in Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services after commercial banks had disconnected customers of the mobile network operator.

Customers who had tried to recharge their MTN lines were unable to do so, causing many to rely on physical cards.

READ ALSO: Banks Disconnect MTN Over USSD Charges Dispute

Little Info On MTN and Banks’ Tussle

Banks have an outstanding debt of N42 billion to telecoms network operators, with these operators dropping the commissions banks receive from 3.5 percent to 2.5 percent.

A notice was sent out to banks to restore the initial commission that was being paid else lines of MTN customers would be disconnected.

MTN’s refusal to heed the notice led to the disruption in USSD services experienced by customers.

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