Millions of Nigerian banking customers, traders, and Point of Sale (PoS) operators are facing increasing difficulties completing USSD banking transactions, even when they have sufficient funds in their accounts, following a major structural overhaul of the country’s mobile payment system.
The disruption is not linked to ordinary network faults but to a regulatory shift driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which introduced a new End-User Billing framework alongside enhanced fraud prevention measures affecting USSD banking operations nationwide.
Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that under the new End-User Billing (EUB) model, USSD session charges are now deducted directly from users’ mobile airtime balances rather than being charged through bank accounts, fundamentally changing how transactions are initiated and processed.
The policy stipulates a flat fee per USSD session, which is automatically deducted by mobile network operators before any banking request is forwarded. As a result, transactions fail instantly if the linked phone number has insufficient airtime, regardless of the available bank balance.
Regulators say the change was introduced to resolve long-standing payment disputes between banks and telecommunications companies, which had accumulated significant unpaid charges running into hundreds of billions of naira across the ecosystem.
In addition to the billing shift, authorities have also deployed stricter security controls through the Telecom Industry Risk Management System (TIRMS), designed to detect SIM swap fraud, number recycling, and other mobile identity risks before authorising USSD sessions.
While the security layer is aimed at reducing fraud, it has introduced additional verification steps that sometimes slow down transaction processing and contribute to session timeouts, particularly on older mobile devices.
The combined impact of airtime-based charging and enhanced fraud screening has created widespread confusion among users, many of whom are unaware that airtime availability has now become a critical requirement for successful USSD banking.
Financial institutions, including major commercial banks, have reportedly recorded increased customer complaints as users struggle to understand why transfers fail despite having sufficient funds in their accounts.
Small traders and PoS operators have been among the hardest hit, especially in areas with limited internet access where USSD remains the primary channel for fast payments and confirmations.
Regulators have advised users to maintain adequate airtime balances on registered banking lines or switch to mobile apps and internet banking platforms where possible to avoid transaction interruptions.
The new framework marks a significant restructuring of Nigeria’s digital financial infrastructure, linking telecommunications systems more directly with banking operations and reshaping how mobile banking services are accessed across the country.
