GTBank Now Deducting USSD Fees from Airtime as Industry Switches Billing Model
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has begun deducting the ₦6.98 transaction fee for USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) banking directly from customers’ mobile airtime instead of their bank accounts.
The change, which takes effect today, June 18, 2025, aligns with a new directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Dear Customer, please be informed that effective 18 June 2025, the N6.98 USSD fee will be deducted from your airtime balance, no longer from your bank account. Thank you,” GTBank informed customers via SMS.
Why the Change? Industry Dispute Over USSD Charges
This policy shift is part of a broader effort to resolve a long-standing dispute between banks and telecom operators over unpaid USSD service fees.
In the previous model, banks deducted the ₦6.98 from users’ bank accounts while telecoms provided the infrastructure but were often not reimbursed. Over time, telcos claimed debts from banks had ballooned to over ₦250 billion by 2024.
NCC’s End-User Billing Model Takes Over
To address the imbalance, the NCC mandated that all Deposit Money Banks adopt an End-User Billing model ensuring that:
Charges are deducted from mobile airtime, not bank accounts.
A prompt is shown at the start of each USSD session.
Airtime is only deducted after the user confirms and has sufficient balance.
The new model is expected to provide greater transparency for users while ensuring that telecom companies are compensated fairly for infrastructure usage.
Banks are also expected to settle any outstanding debts to telcos as a prerequisite to full implementation of the model.
