THE Central Bank of Nigeria’s electronic payment statistics have shown that, between January and June 2024, 252.06 million transactions, which amounted to N2.19tn, were carried out via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes.
This is a significant milestone compared to the full-year data for 2023, which showed that N4.84tn was transacted via USSD codes across 630.6 million transactions.
The N2.19tn recorded in the first half of 2024 represents 45.3 per cent of the total value of USSD transactions in 2023 and 40 per cent of the total transaction volume for the same year.
Initially developed by telecom companies for providing airtime and subscription services, the USSD service has been widely adopted in the banking sector because it does not require an Internet connection.
USSD codes continue to play a crucial role in Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategy, offering a platform for users with limited internet access to make quick and convenient transactions.
This is especially important in rural areas, where internet connectivity remains unreliable.
However, this form of transaction has been threatened by over N250bn debt, which has been a contentious issue for the past six years, prompting past interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria under Godwin Emefiele’s leadership and the former Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami, but no lasting solution has been reached.
The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, earlier lamented that banks have been profiting from USSD services without fulfilling their payment obligations in the last six years.
Last month, This newspaper reported that telecom operators in Nigeria were seeing some progress in the repayment of the N250bn debt tied to Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services, with smaller banks beginning to settle their obligations.
However, tier-one lenders responsible for the bulk of the debt are yet to make significant payments.
At the time, the ALTON chairman disclosed that while some repayments have been recorded, they fall short of expectations.
While USSD remains a dominant channel amidst existing challenges, other electronic payment methods have also seen substantial growth.
Automated Teller Machine transactions have experienced a remarkable volume, with N12.21tn transacted in the first half of 2024 for 496.44 million transactions.
Point-of-sale transactions are also significant, indicating the country’s ongoing shift towards cashless payments.