Banking
N42bn Debt: Anxiety Over Planned Disruption of Banks’ USSD Codes
By Adedapo Adesanya
Customers of financial institutions operating in the country are confused and do not know what will happen from Monday, March 15, 2021, when they might not be able to use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes to carry out a transaction.
This is because the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body of licensed telecommunications service providers (network operators, infrastructure companies and value-added services providers) has concluded plans to commence a phased withdrawal of USSD services to Financial Service Providers (FSPs) over N42 billion debt.
A statement signed by Mr Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, ALTON and Gbolahan Awonuga, Head of Operations, the withdrawal of the services is billed to start with the most significant debtors within the FSPs.
ALTON disclosed that the withdrawal of USSD services to financial service providers was mainly due to huge indebtedness to telecom network operators.
Giving the background to the problem, ALTON said, “In order to accelerate the adoption of financial services on USSD, the Financial Service Providers (FSPs) partnered our members to zero-rate the USSD access to end-users, while they bore the cost for the provision of service.
“Based on this arrangement, the banks took on the responsibility of billing customers and paid our members for use of the USSD infrastructure from the service fees deducted from the customer’s bank account.
“Following the issuance of the USSD Pricing determination by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which resulted in a price review of USSD service by our members, the banks decided that they would no longer pay for USSD service delivered to their customers and requested our members to charge customers directly for use of the USSD channel.
“This billing methodology where the Financial Service Providers (FSPs) customer is directly charged USSD access fees by our members irrespective of the service charges that the bank may subsequently apply to the customers’ bank account is called End-User Billing which the banks specifically demanded that all our members implement.
“The banks, however, provided no assurances to our members that such service fees charged to customers’ bank accounts for access to bank services through the USSD channel would be discontinued post implementation of end-user billing by our members.
“The removal of these service fees by the Financial Service Providers (FSPs) would have meant that if bank customers were charged only the USSD costs communicated by our members per USSD session, bank customers will be paying far less than what they are currently being charged by the Financial Service Providers (FSPs) which in some instances are as high as N50.
“Additionally, the banks and telcos will be applauded for collaborating towards the financial inclusion objectives of the federal government.”
The further said it has been more than eight months since the NCC issued an updated pricing methodology for USSD services for financial transactions in Nigeria, a methodology which explicitly restricted Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s) from charging the end user for the services and mandated the banking sector to enter into negotiations to settle outstanding obligations and agree with individual pricing mechanisms to be applied going forward.
“During this time, Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s) have continued to provide access to USSD infrastructure and our members have continued to pay all Bank charges and fees to access the Banking industries assets and customers, despite the fact that obligations due from banks to telecoms companies for USSD services has reached over N42 billion.
“ALTON members have continued to provide these services because our primary concern is that the millions of Nigerian customers who access financial services through our USSD infrastructure every day should be able to continue conducting their transactions. This was given greater importance when customers’ became further reliant on these services due to COVID movement restrictions.
“Unfortunately, as it has been impossible to agree on a structure for these payments with the banks that do not involve the end-user being asked to pay, the government has been forced to intervene to ensure that a sustainable cost-sharing solution is agreed, that does not disadvantage the consumer in the long-term.”
The group disclosed that withdrawal of services to FSPs has become unavoidable saying, “We deeply regret that we have reached a point where the withdrawal of these services has become unavoidable, however, we remain committed to working closely with the relevant Ministries and regulators to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
“To minimise the disruption to customers, and with the concurrence of the Honourable Minster of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission, on the huge debt to the Network operators; Mobile Network Operators will disconnect debtorFinancial Service Providers (FSPs) from USSD services, until the huge debt is paid.
“Therefore, our members are initiating a phased process of withdrawal of USSD services, starting with the most significant debtors within the Financial Service Providers (FSPs) effective Monday March 15, 2021.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In 2025, Access Holdings Plc lowered its operational emissions by 28.47 per cent by growing its green asset portfolio to N92.15 billion, though still far from its N475 billion target.
Details of its 2025 Sustainability Report showed that operational emissions fell to 49,352 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from 57,176 tonnes in 2024, supported primarily by branch solarisation across 263 locations and the deployment of 323 solar-powered ATMs, largely across Access Bank in Nigeria.
The organisation applies the operational-control approach under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, accounting for emissions across its African footprint, with Access Bank representing the largest share.
The report reinforces its strategic shift from scale to value by showing how sustainability is being embedded in capital allocation, risk management, product development and operations.
During the year, Access Holdings deployed N72.3 billion under its Sustainable Finance Framework to eligible environmentally beneficial projects and grew its cumulative sustainability-focused loan book to $1.269 billion.
Beyond environmental outcomes, the report highlights the group’s contribution to inclusive economic participation.
In 2025, Access Holdings extended access to finance to 2,528,117 low-income individuals and onboarded 78,438 new MSMEs onto its financing platform.
Across the institution, 2.8 billion transactions were processed during the year, underscoring its role as core financial infrastructure for Africa’s real
economy. Gender-lens lending also progressed, with 354,156 loans extended to women and women-owned businesses, totalling N67.4 billion, equivalent to 24 per cent of the relevant loan portfolio.
Its Corporate Social Investment programmes reached 2,439,480 beneficiaries across education, health, entrepreneurship and the environment, delivered with partners, including UNICEF, HACEY Health Initiative and the Kenya Forest Service.
Employees recorded 359,500 volunteer hours with 100 per cent participation, while more than 50,000 trees were planted. The group notes that 2025 community figures follow a board-mandated tightening of its impact-measurement methodology and are not directly comparable with prior years. Women represent 49 per cent of the workforce, and the Access Holdings board comprised nine directors with 44.4 per cent female representation. Employee satisfaction rose to 87 per cent against an 80 per cent target, while attrition eased from about 13 per cent to about 11 per cent.
For the second straight year, Access Holdings reported zero material regulatory penalties relating to sustainability and zero cybersecurity breaches.
It mobilised $185.38 million, equivalent to N266.83 billion, in concessional funding from development finance institutions during the year and allocated a sustainability budget of N4.8 billion from profit before tax.
Sales-facing staff in the banking subsidiary carry green-portfolio targets within their individual performance measures, linking strategic sustainability goals to day-to-day execution across governance, strategy, risk management, capital allocation, products and operations.
To strengthen credibility and comparability, the report was prepared using the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, specifically IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, as the primary framework, with the GRI Standards (2021) and the SASB Standards applied as complementary references.
“Our 2025 Sustainability Report reflects the discipline with which we are converting scale into value. We reduced operational emissions by 28.47 per cent,
grew our green asset portfolio to N92.14 billion and extended financial access to about 2.5 million low-income individuals.
“These outcomes show that sustainability is not separate from our business; it is central to how we create value, manage risk and support inclusive growth across Africa,” the chief executive of Access Holdings, Mr Innocent Ike, stated.
Looking ahead, the company promised to deepen the measurable impact of its sustainability agenda, accelerate the transition of its portfolio towards low-carbon and climate-resilient assets, and grow the green asset portfolio towards the N475 billion target.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has paid the insured deposits of about 700,000 customers of the defunct Heritage Bank and has commenced the reimbursement of depositors of 46 microfinance banks (MFBs) whose operating licences were recently revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The chief executive of NDIC, Mr Oludare Sunday, made this known on Wednesday during a retreat for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters in Lagos.
He said the corporation immediately began settling the insured deposits of customers after the CBN revoked the licences of the 46 microfinance banks and appointed the NDIC as their provisional liquidator.
“We are working on those. The CBN revoked the licences, and we were appointed as the provisional liquidator. We have started paying depositors of those banks, and gradually we intend to cover all the insured depositors,” he said.
Mr Sunday explained that the NDIC’s responsibility extends beyond paying insured deposits to recovering outstanding loans owed to the failed institutions and disposing of their assets to generate funds for the settlement of uninsured depositors.
“Our function as liquidator involves the payment of guaranteed sums. Thereafter, we go after those who owe the institutions and have not paid. We also ensure that we sell the available assets and realise their investments towards paying the uninsured portion of the deposits. So, we have started paying the guaranteed deposits. What we are doing now is also realising the assets of those institutions,” he stated.
Although he declined to disclose the exact number of depositors of the failed microfinance banks who had been reimbursed, Sunday said the Corporation was working with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to identify depositors through their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to ensure seamless payments.
“So, the more accounts we discover, the more payments we make,” he added.
Providing an update on the liquidation of Heritage Bank, the NDIC chief said about 700,000 depositors had already received their insured deposits, while efforts were ongoing to trace other customers whose identities could not be verified from available records.
He attributed the challenge to legacy accounts created before the introduction of the BVN system, as well as incomplete customer records inherited from banks that were later merged into Heritage Bank.
“If you know Heritage Bank, you know it is an amalgamation of several banks, including the acquisition of Enterprise Bank in 2014. So, if you think of banks like Guardian Express and Spring Bank, they are all part of Heritage Bank.
“There are depositors we have not been able to trace, and this is an opportunity for them to come forward. I am sure many of us did the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and may have left some money in an account, but there was no BVN then.
“Even the addresses we had were sometimes things like ‘opposite filling station.’ How do you trace such a person? Once they come forward, and for those we have been able to identify from the institution’s database, we have been paying them,” he explained.
Mr Sunday added that the Corporation would continue to recover outstanding loans and dispose of Heritage Bank’s assets to generate funds for the payment of liquidation dividends to depositors whose balances exceeded the insured limit.
Earlier in his remarks, he described the NDIC as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s financial safety net, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between regulators and the National Assembly as the banking sector responds to recapitalisation efforts and rapid financial technology developments.
According to him, while the ongoing banking recapitalisation programme has strengthened the resilience of financial institutions, it must be complemented by sound corporate governance, effective risk management, strict regulatory compliance and robust supervision to safeguard long-term financial system stability.
He also disclosed that more than 98 per cent of depositors, representing over 281 million accounts across insured financial institutions, are fully protected under the NDIC’s deposit insurance scheme.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Zenith Bank Plc is investigating an incident involving unauthorised access to customers’ data, noting that the breach does not involve financial information and has not compromised its banking services or digital channels.
In an email sent to customers on Wednesday, the bank stated that the incident was part of a broader global cyberattack affecting multiple international organisations across various sectors.
The lender stated that it immediately activated its incident response protocols and intensified its cybersecurity and remediation efforts upon discovering the incident.
“This incident is part of a broader, global cyber-attack targeting multiple international organisations across various sectors. Upon discovery, we promptly activated our incident response protocols, cybersecurity actions and remediation efforts,” the bank said.
The bank reassured customers that its banking services and digital channels remain secure and fully operational.
As a precautionary measure, Zenith Bank advised customers to remain alert to potential phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering.
“As a precaution, we encourage our customers to remain vigilant against phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls, and never to disclose their password, PIN, One-Time Password (OTP), or other security credentials to anyone,” the bank said.
The incident is the latest in a series of cybersecurity challenges facing Nigerian financial institutions, with banks in recent months suspending their social media operations over impersonation and other fraudulent activities.
Earlier in April, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) said it was investigating alleged data breaches involving Sterling Bank, Remita and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Nigerian banks have long been prime targets for cybercriminals because of the vast amounts of customer data and financial transactions they handle every day.
While many attacks have traditionally sought to steal funds, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting personal information, which can be used for identity theft, phishing schemes, account takeovers and other forms of financial fraud.
Cybersecurity threats have increasingly targeted Nigerian banks in recent years. In 2025, Union Bank of Nigeria warned customers about fraudulent websites and phishing campaigns designed to steal login credentials and personal information by impersonating the bank.
In August 2024, Guaranty Trust Bank experienced a domain-related security incident that temporarily disrupted access to its official website, although the lender assured customers that their deposits and banking services remained secure while it resolved the issue.
