All Nigerian banks have disconnected MTN from USSD services, causing confusion. Due to a dispute over earnings, Nigerian banks have disconnected MTN from banking networks such as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and banking apps. Customers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and Access Bank told weetalknaija.com.ng about the frustrating growth. ng that they have been unable to use the digital services provided by the banks. In Nigeria, MTN has 77.34 million subscribers. However, neither the banks nor the mobile telecommunications operator have given their customers an explanation for the situation. MTN, in a message to its subscribers earlier on Friday, advised them to recharge their phones using physical cards because its bank recharge channels were unavailable. “Dear Customer, our bank recharge networks are temporarily inaccessible. Please use physical cards to reload. The mobile network operator apologized for the inconvenience.
When our reporters inquired about the problem, a GTBank account manager blamed downtime for customers’ inability to access the bank’s digital service. The blockage, according to an MTN insider, was triggered by a dispute between the company and banks over the USSD code commission. According to him, the network had reduced the average commission paid to GTBank and other lenders from 3.5 percent to 2.5 percent. While not all banks got a cut, only Zenith Bank chose not to block MTN out of the lenders who were affected. According to the insider, the volume of use affected MTN’s decision to reduce the commission for the USSD code. He went on to say that the banks disconnected MTN subscribers without informing the network or its customers.
“The decision didn’t sit well with the financial institutions, who demanded a return to the old board, which the telco declined to do,” the source said. “Please be aware that MTN did not disconnect customers and has no interest in this. This is solely the result of banks behaving independently. “When we awoke this morning, we discovered that MTN customers had been disconnected from USSD services overnight. This is surprising because the banks did not provide any formal notice to their customers prior to taking this action. The banks wrote back to the aggregators, asking that the old commission be reinstated; otherwise, MTN airtime would be blocked across all of their networks. Our customers were stranded after the channels were blocked at midnight. Surprisingly, the bank’s Managing Directors met and made a decision quickly. Banks refuse to provide services to telecommunications subscribers even though they have money in their accounts.”
He said the banks acted to protect their profits and requested that the government interfere in the dispute. “This is just about preserving bank earnings, which are already significant and increasing considering the broader economic conditions. “The government must intervene and settle this issue once and for all. Nigerian banks must abandon their tyrannical conduct, according to the source.
Source: weetalknaija.com.ng
