The Central Bank of Nigeria has reported that in just six months, Nigerians have used Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes to send N2.19 trillion in money.
According to the CBN’s electronic payment statistics report, between January and June 2024, Nigerians used Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes to conduct 252.06 million transactions totaling N2.19 trillion.
The N2.19 trillion recorded in the first half of 2024 accounts for 40 percent of the transaction volume and 45.3% of the total value of USSD transactions in 2023.
In 2023, 630.6 million transactions of N4.84 trillion were made using USSD codes.
Since the USSD service doesn’t require an internet connection, it has been widely used in the banking industry. Telecommunications firms first created it to offer subscription services and airtime.
Because it allows people with restricted internet connections to conduct quick and easy transactions, the USSD code has remained a key component of Nigeria’s financial inclusion plan.
This feature is crucial in remote places where internet connectivity is still erratic.
However, the over N250 billion debt, a divisive topic for the past six years, has jeopardized USSD as a transaction.
Despite previous interventions by Isa Pantami, the former minister of communications, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, led by Godwin Emefiele, no long-term solution has been found.
According to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, banks have been making money off USSD services without meeting their payment requirements in the past six years.
With smaller banks starting to pay their debts, Nigerian telecom providers were making some headway in repaying the N250 billion debt associated with Unstructured Supplementary Service Data offerings.
However, most of the debt’s tier-one lenders have not yet made any sizable payments.
Other electronic payment mechanisms have also experienced significant development, even if USSD continues to be a dominating channel despite current difficulties.
