Fidelity, FCMB, Sterling, UBA, Zenith USSD Codes to Cease Operations on January 27 Over N160Billion Telcos Debt

The USSD codes of nine Nigerian banks, including Fidelity Bank (770), FCMB (329), Sterling Bank (822), UBA (919), and Zenith Bank (966), are at risk of being suspended on January 27, 2025 following their failure to settle a ₦160 billion debt owed to telecommunication companies since 2019.

In a notice on Wednesday, the NCC listed the other affected banks and their USSD codes as Jaiz Bank Plc (773), Polaris Bank Limited (833), Unity Bank Plc (7799), and Wema Bank Plc (945).

“In fulfillment of its consumer protection mandate, the Commission wishes to inform consumers that they may be unable to access the USSD platform of the affected financial institutions from January 27, 2025,” the NCC statement read.

What Next?

If the affected banks failed to pay their debts, Telcos would be free to cut off their USSD access. This would lead to service disruptions for a large segment of the Nigerian population who greatly rely on the use of USSD codes to carry out financial transactions.

The NCC has also indicated that the USSD codes of non-compliant banks could be reassigned to other applicants as a result leaving the customers of the affected banks stranded.

To avoid widespread inconvenience, the affected banks must resolve the issue urgently as failure to do so could lead to significant disruptions in mobile banking services, impacting financial accessibility for a large portion of the population.